We didn’t do so bad, we lost 0:5 last time, says Šilhavy

The Czech national team lost 0:1 to England on Tuesday and finished third in the group. The performance (at least in the second half) was not ideal, but Jaroslav Šilhavý found some positives.

The Czech national team ended up third in the group. The key is of course the qualification, but before the last match at least the second place was expected.

“I think it is a success for us. We wanted it and we had it after two games. We had four points and we even played England for first place in the group, which is a very good result. I think we did the best we could,” he said in a post-match interview.

The match against England was not good at all, we couldn’t get Patrik Schick involved, the left side didn’t work at all, and Bořil was sent off. According to Šilhavy, the absence of Czech fans was also noticeable.

“We faced a very strong opponent. I don’t think we did such a bad performance, but the opponent clearly outplayed us in the final phase. In Prague we had the crowd behind us, an enthusiastic performance, everyone managed to pull something beyond 100 percent.”

The national team manager also praised the much improved performance compared to the last encounter with England at Wembley. Then the Czechs took a “beating” and were a laughing stock. This time they were in the game until the last minute.

“Today there were passages that we combined, kept the ball more than the opponent. We had two chances in the first half. Last time here we lost 0: 5 and we had almost nothing. Today it wasn’t a bad game, but we were worse in the final stages compared to such strong opponents.”

Šilhavy’s charges will play either the Netherlands or the winner of Group E in the eighth round. So the option of playing the Slovaks, Swedes, Poles and Spaniards is in play.

“I think it’s the same level, the same strength. It’s one game with a strong opponent, anything can happen. And who would I like? Probably for the people of Budapest, so that our fans can come and cheer for us,” said Šilhavy

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