Czechs surprise at Euros but still fall short against Portugal
The Czechs did not manage to secure a point after their game against Portugal, conceding in the 87th minute for a final score of 2:1. However Coach Ivan Hašek believes that they can draw on the game’s positives against their future opponents, particularly Georgia, which they play on Saturday. What are some other takeaways that the Czech national team can learn from moving forward?
The recent history of face-offs between the two teams shows that since Karel Poborský’s memorable scoop against Portugal which decided the Euro 96 quarter-final, the Portuguese have been better. In the last four competitive games against Czechia, the Portuguese have managed to win four in a row. With football legend Cristiano Ronaldo at the helm of the Portuguese team and as one of the best teams in Europe, the odds were stacked against Czechia once more. Despite that, they managed to hold off the Portuguese attack for much of the game.
Before the game, Coach Ivan Hašek said that Czechia aimed to play an active game. These intentions were thwarted by the Portuguese. Instead, the Czechs mainly played defensively, making sporadic plays from behind which took advantage of the Portuguese press leading to their first goal by Lukáš Provod in the 62nd minute. Hašek commented on whether this was a change in plans or if it came naturally during the game:
“It wasn’t a change in the plan at all. We wanted to be active but the quality of the Portuguese didn’t allow for it. We lost the ball frequently. The quality of the Portuguese meant they kept pressing. Overall in the defensive phase we played well, but of course we wanted to play further up the field.”
Hašek continued on what the Czechs changed in the second half:
“Of course, we changed the system a little bit. We tried a 4-3-3 system toward the end of the first half when we began to play more defensively. Then we began to be more dangerous even in the second half.”
In the 69th minute of the game, Robin Hranáč’s unlucky deflection from a save by the goalkeeper Jindřich Staněk resulted in an own goal. Hašek said the team could learn from these moments as well:
“It was unlucky but I haven’t seen the detailed play. We will look at it and analyze it. We will have to get it together over the course of the next four days. We’re playing against Georgia and we have to improve our execution there.”
The goalkeeper, Staněk, also commented on the team’s performance after the game:
“It’s unfortunate for us that we didn’t squeeze out a point. We have to admit that the first half wasn’t the best for us. We know that. We also knew that it’s not an ideal performance but when we’re compact then it’s tough to get through us. On the other side we have two games in front of us that we want to handle.”
