Haven't heard much mostly because of the recent transfer window. We need to win or we are essentially out of the world cup. Really hope Bilek gets this one right.
We beat them 0-3 in Yerevan, and would expect a similar result in Prague. They have a handful of quality players, most notably Mkhitaryan, but overall they are not a very strong side.
I'm not the biggest fan of the squad we called in though. The closest thing to a good lineup I can make of it is a 4-2-2-2: Husbaur could just as easily be Jiracek, but I gave the nod to the player in better overall form despite inexperience. I'm guessing that instead we'll see central players played wide. Against Armenia I certainly expect to see some less experienced players such as Rabusic get a run, but against Italy expect closer to the one I listed above with only V. Kadlec and Husbauer quite possibly not starting.
We have no wingers in the squad or really any quality wingers playing anywhere. We have quite a few good midfielders though but we can't play only center midfielders and expect to succeed against better nations.
I'll be glad to see the end of the Bilek era, a complete lack of cohesive play and embarrassingly ineffective in the final third. Possession wise we completely dominated, but had few real chances. Talent advantage and home field should have been enough in this one, but Bilek managed to put together a losing team. I don't know who will replace him, a lot of people thought (and hoped) Vrba, but I think when he leaves Plzen it will be for a club in a bigger league. The problem really goes all the way to the FA that hired Bilek, who had no credentials whatsoever, and then extended him despite having a disorganized looking team that stumbled into just enough results. I'm not especially confident in Pelta's ability to find a worthwhile successor.
Well another cycle without a world cup. Rosicky, Cech, Plasil and maybe a few other will likely retire so there goes our best players. We have a few young players doing well like Kadlec, Darida and others. If we even want to have a chance for the euros, players like jiracek need to stay fit.
Picking the right manager will be important too, the team produced two good results post-Bilek and it was clear in some of the latter fixtures of his managership that a breath of fresh air was needed. We've always had more success in Euros than in World Cup for whatever reason.
Pavel Vrba is the new manager. http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/soccer/story/pavel-vrba-czech-republic-coaching-duties-111813 His tenure at Plzen saw them emerge as perrenial contender domestically, 2 trips to the Champions League group phase, and a trip to the Europa League round of 16. Managing a club is different than managing a national team, but in my opinion this is a good hire. He certainly has a much more proven track record than his predecessor.
3 players to be added a striker, a defender, and a midfielder. That defense does not inspire confidence at all, and we also have well documented injury woes up front (and have for a few years it feels). Midfield looks good though, I wouldn't be surprised if one of Krejčí or Pilař winds up more or less being used as a forward from the wing. The other "bright spot" is a lot players familiar with Vrba's approach so hopefully tactical organization can overcome some of the absences and shortcomings. As for the 3 additional players, probably Husbauer for midfield and whoever is least injured for the other 2.
I really work about our team right now. Our midfield is good but our striking options is just alright. Kozak, Kadlec, Vydra, and Pekhart are okay strikers but not amazing. The defense really worries me though.
Not a bad squad considering some of the injuries and players out of form, although I don't understand why players like Prochazka and Petrzela were selected. At the age of 30 with 4 caps, I don't think Prochazka has much of a future in the national team. That being said, I question Vrba's choice to pick him over Ondrej Mazuch (a regular at FC Dnipro) and Tomas Sivok who is probably our best defender despite his recent knee surgery. I also would of like to have see Tomas Kalas chosen. I understand Vrba's decision to chose players with the best form but knowing our defence is weak at the moment and has been the biggest problem in Vrba's first three matches I would have expected him to go with the more experienced Sivok or the up and coming Kalas. With Petrzela making the squad, we now have 4 wingers (not to mention Pudil and Jiracek who can play there as well). I would have like to see another central midfielder like Husbauer or Hubschman instead, as we don't have a true defensive midfielder in the squad. As for the three remaining spots I would like to see these players selected: Defender - Sivok / Mazuch Midfielder - Husbauer / Hubschman Striker - Necid / Lafata
Mazuch and Lafata are in, I probably would have rather Necid as he at least offers a target man outlet, but he is still recovering from the long string of injuries. Mazuch I think was a good decision. I haven't rated Plasil for the national team in a long time, in fact he was dreadful last time I saw him, but this may have been a time for considering a one last hurrah opportunity with all the attrition in the current lineup, certainly would be better than Petrzela.
I think both Mazuch and Lafata were the right decisions as well. I also would have preferred Necid in this situation, but he hasn't played enough to deserve a spot just yet. I think Mazuch has a very good chance of starting having seen some of his performances for Dnipro. I think he's a better defender than Suchy and even Kadlec. I never understood why Bilek always overlooked him, but then again I didn't understand a lot of things Bilek did. Vrba said that he would have called up Plasil had he not been injured, so I think he is waiting to see if Plasil will be fit in time as the final midfielder will be called up on Sunday. I really hope Hubschman gets picked as I think his defensive qualities are still valuable to the national team. I know Vrba never really played with a true defensive midfielder with Plzen, but in the last qualifying campaign we lost all three matches that Hubschman didn't play in and conceded 7 goals in those games as well. Hubschman's presence also allows Darida to venture forward which is important if we play a counter attacking style.
I've always been a fan on Hubschman. I thought Bilek made a big mistakes in the Euros by playing Jiracek in that role because we were just destroyed by Russia. I have to say, our future does not look to great though. Unless some new players start playing really well, I could see another disappointing Euros.
I'm more worried about actually qualifying for Euro 2016 than doing well in it. It will not be easy with our football on the decline and of course the terrible group we got put in.
The final midfielder will be called up later today. Plasil isn't in the squad for Bordeaux for the second straight week (due to injury) which probably puts him out of contention for the final spot. The last spot is likely down to Hubschman and Husbauer and interestingly enough Sparta and Jablonec are about to kickoff. Hubschman is in the starting 11 for Jablonec while Husbauer starts on the bench. At this point it looks like Hubschman will get called up since Husbauer has missed the last few matches due to illness and overall has been in very poor form this season.
Well Lukas Vacha is the final call up for Vrba. Its looks like Hubschman's international career is coming to an end as he doesn't seem to be part of Vrba's plans going forward with Vacha being the only ideal replacement.
Cech - Kaderabek, Suchy, Kadlec, Limbersky - Darida, Jiracek - Petrzela, Rosicky, Pilar - Vydra This is the predicted starting 11 by the Czech media for tomorrow's friendly against the US. I agree with this starting 11 for the most part, although I'd rather have Dockal in Petrzela's place as he is familiar with Kaderabek on the right side and offers much more than Petrzela at the international level. I also hope that Mazuch and Vacha get fair minutes to see if they can fight for a starting spot against the Netherlands.
Lineup vs USA. Čech - Kadeřábek, Procházka, M. Kadlec, Limberský - Pilař, Darida, Rosický, Jiráček, Krejčí - Vydra That's basically what I would expect vs Netherlands as well barring injury or dreadful display.
I think Vydra is a fine player that still has a fair bit of potential, but a lone striker at the International level he is not.
Struggling to find a stream and missed the first half. What is going on? It will be very embarrassing if we lose this match.