What did the Czech Republic’s match with Sweden show? Three-man defence is the way to go, Kuchta replaced Schick well, only goal was missing

The Czech national football team lost the barrage match against Sweden for participation in the World Cup in Qatar. What did the 0:1 defeat show for the next national team meetings, during which the Czechs will play the Spaniards, Portuguese and Swiss in the Nations League?

A three-man defence, yes, but…

The coaching staff unexpectedly put the eleven in a 3-5-2 formation and it worked! Tomas Holeš, Jakub Brabec and David Zima played a very good game together, especially Brabec in the middle excelled.

Lukáš Masopust and Jakub Jankt coped with the atypical role of wing-backs very well, even though the latter was unrestricted for the first twenty minutes. In terms of running, both of them managed the match.

However, the modern three-stopper system only works in the presence of fast and explosive wing-backs and it was the substitution of the more defensive-minded Aleš Matějů and Milan Havel for Masopust and Jankt that may have lost the match for the Czech Republic. Had Vladimir Coufal been available with another quality left back, it could have looked even better.

“S” midfield impressed

If the large number of players didn’t affect any position, it was definitely the six and eight. Šilhavý had a wide selection for the centre of midfield, and in the end he chose Michal Sadílek, the captain of the last U21 national team, alongside Souček.

Sadílek jumped into the senior national team in the autumn in style and quickly won a solid place in the squad. Thursday’s performance confirmed it, he and Soucek complemented each other perfectly, Sadílek ran tirelessly, and he also played corner kicks into dangerous areas with his left foot.

Kuchta on the move

It would be hard to find many footballers in the Czech league who have improved so much in the last year and a half. Kuchta has matured into a reliable, ready-made striker in Slavia, who can often work at a high tempo for the whole match.

On Thursday, after a good performance in Lokomotiv Moscow in Russia, he was in the starting lineup, replacing Patrik Schick. Yes, he didn’t score a goal (or rather, he did, but it wasn’t valid due to an alleged foul by Jakub Brabec), but he scored countless goals for the team, as well as two Swedish players being sent off. He didn’t convert his biggest opportunity, fatigue played a role. Otherwise an excellent performance.

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