The national team lost to the defending champions at the home opener of the U19 European Championship

After the 2017 European Under-17 Women’s Football Championship, the Czech Republic is hosting another top tournament for the youth women’s category. The 2022 U19 Women’s EURO is being held in the Moravian-Silesian region and the home players kicked off the tournament with the opening match against the French in Vítkovice on Monday.

The home team, which has never qualified for this annual championship before, experienced a challenging debut. France is the last winner so far, having won the trophy in 2019 before the coronation break. What’s more, it was played from 11am in hot weather.

The favourites scored the first goal in the 21st minute, just before the refreshment break. After the French pressure and a confusing situation in our juniors’ penalty area, Judith Coquet sent a ground shot to the right post from the edge of the area. The ball stopped in the net behind goalkeeper Therese Fuchs.

And in the setting of the first half, there was another shot on goal. The defense failed to keep a pass across the width of their penalty area, where it found the scoring Ines Benyahi. We went into the locker room with a 0:2 scoreline.

Despite some offensive hints from the Czech coach Jan Navrátil’s charges, the dominance of the French women continued after the change of sides. For a long time, however, the two-goal difference in the score was kept by the saves of the Slavic goalkeeper Fuchsová.

In the 77th minute, Hungarian head referee Siposova awarded a penalty after a foul by Hlouchová, but Fuchsová defused Mouchonová’s penalty kick. However, during the four-minute set-up, the Frenchwoman did score after a corner.

The Czech Republic entered the European Championship with a 0:3 defeat. The defending European champions from the “Land of the Gallic Cock” produced a total of 28 shots compared to seven by the home players. Coach Ringler’s side also had the ball more often, sixty percent of the time.

The Czech Republic team still has group games against Spain and Italy. The final of the tournament is scheduled for Saturday 9 July. The main highlight of women’s football this year, the EURO in England, starts three days earlier.

Source: CT Sport, UEFA