What did the June matches of the Czech national team in the Nations League show?

The Czech national football team has played four Nations League matches against Spain, Portugal and Switzerland. After quite solid performances, the national team took four points from these matches. What did these matches show with regard to the future of the national team?

The system is taking root

In the World Cup barrage against Sweden, coach Šilhavy went with a 3-4-3 formation for the first time. In all four Nations League matches he trusted the same system and the Czechs are getting used to it.

Brabec has risen to the role of the head of the defence, Coufal is tailor-made for the wingback position, the midfield is covered by the speedy Soucek and Sadilek, Černý and Kuchta have also settled into their roles quite well.

The high pressing worked well

The national team wasn’t afraid to use high pressing against Spain and Portugal and in both games they had chances. It’s just a pity that the Czechs didn’t resort to this element of the game more often.

For example, in the Spain game, the national team got into a couple of tight spots when the opponent overplayed the press. This is also how Sarabia’s second goal fell when Brabec mis-stepped on Gavi.

Neuralgic point left side

In a 3-4-3 formation, we are talking about a left stopper, a left wingback and possibly a left winger. The Czechs have scored seven goals in four games, five of them via the left side. Neither Milan Havel nor Ales Matějů have been very convincing.

Adam Hložek struggled the whole game, he was visibly tired. Václav Jemelka and Jaroslav Zelený played solidly, but even so, if coach Šilhavý is going to stick to this formation, he should find suitable players for these positions.

Converting chances is a pain

Especially in the two away games in Portugal and Spain, converting chances was a big pain for the Czech national team. With more efficiency, the Czechs could have thought of better results.

Sadilek shot over, Kuchta hit the goalkeeper twice, Vlkanova failed from close range, Jurecka shot inaccurately, Pešek sent his curve over the goal, Cerny and Kral were saved by goalkeeper Simón.

Hložek and Souček sniffed out

A lot of players were tired after a long season, but it was probably most evident in these two. Maybe Adam Hložek should have excused himself from the reunion. Tomas Soucek also didn’t have to play so many minutes.

Although the West Ham mainstay played some decent games, Soucek lacked dynamism and drive, running the game at virtually the same speed. It’s hard to say why Lukas Kalvach didn’t get more chances.

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