It turns out when you don't have 11 players that have never played together, even the inexperience players start looking better.
Yep, and even a Northern Irish commentator said something similar to that when speaking about their mixed lineup before the game.
Since I expressed skepticism about Celustka's passing he's played a few excellent balls. Now if only he were a better finisher (lets see if this works...)
The no draws streak continues... I don't mind, the first half was a failed experiment but 2nd half was a complete domination so momentum should carry forward.
The only player who wasn't in the England lineup that really made a case for themselves was Kopic, I still think there is a debate he is better than Masopust, but honestly we definitely need both to be ready to play a role since that is a thin position. Over two matches, Boril and Ondrasek probably improved their national team standing the most. Husbauer, Zmrhal and Krejci don't have it and only Zmrhal realistically is young enough to still have any potential to develop - time to move on. Hard to objectively assess the players that went off at halftime since there was no core group to organize the team. I thought Simic looked okay at times, or at least shown potential, but everything about the team shape was so off. Edit to add: It's amazing how much the stats tilted our way after that 2nd half, we had 67% possession, and more than double the number of completed passes and shots on target. Unfortunately the stat line for critical defensive f*** ups is just the scoreline.
If we were to call the lineup against England our current A team, then the absolute best B team to that would be: Pavlenka - Kaderabek, Kalas, Suchy, Novak - Pavelka, Barak - Vydra, Dockal, Kopic - Krmencik That is still fairly solid and certain positions are almost interchangeable. That team plus the one that faced England is a realistic squad for the Euros. Though I agree, outside of that, our options do not look so good unless Silhavy comes to his senses and begins choosing Mateju, Simic, Sadilek, Hlozek, and Matousek over Reznik, Kudela, Zmrhal, Krejci, and Dolezal when we have injuries.
Plus, I realize the U21s have been disappointing thus far (particularly Matousek), but the fact that they seem to be poorly managed makes me think the star players like Hlozek, Sadilek, and again, Matousek, would actually perform well with the senior team when surrounded by experienced and simply better players.
I unfortunately am starting to have skepticism that Dockal will ever be back on the national team, at least at the level he previously had. He is on the wrong side of 30 to be having reoccurring injuries and long absences, but Barak does look like he will be back soon. I also think Suchy's national team usefulness is winding down. Otherwise, yes we have enough depth for the tournament assuming people stay healthy and we finish off qualifying England is battering Bulgaria, and Kosovo doing the same to Montenegro. We still have work to do.
Quite possibly, and honestly I think Matousek is still a very unfinished product. He has speed and flair that no other Czech player has, but he also often complicates simple situations and can be knocked out of the match by teams that mark him physically. Hlozek is simply and amazing player for his age, but he is 17 so while I think worth at least a chance in a friendly, not too surprising he is being kept in the youth teams. I would rank Sadilek as the most likely to get more call-ups between now and Euro 2020.
Montenegro doesn't look like they will be doing us any favors against Kosovo, but our win against England really was helpful. As things stand, we stay in 2nd. The kosovo game will be very important, but at least now we will go through with a win or draw.
Our match at Bulgaria will be played in front of an empty stadium as punishment for their fans behavior against England. Also, mentioned in the league thread, but David Hovorka tore his ACL so most likely won't get a debut this cycle. Not an established national team player, but still shame since he was having a break-out season at our weakest position.
I'm glad. Bulgaria has nothing to play for, and has been disgraced for their racist actions. We should be winning that one. We can qualify for the euros with a win or draw against Kosovo.
Such a shame about Hovorka. It seems that so many Czech players have now experienced a major injury just as they started hitting their stride. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe he'd been having issues with that same knee for the last month or so? Just makes it that much more frustrating. Now Silhavy would've likely stuck with Celustka and Brabec anyways for the November games, but with his current form, Hovorka would certainly be a candidate to start in 2020. At least Kalas is back from injury and will add depth. I'm also beginning to question how useful Suchy will be in the near future. I know it was mentioned during the last international break, but it is a very valid concern. Even when he does return from injury, I don't see him getting consistent minutes with Augsburg and his performances in September were an eye-opener to say the least. Calling up Kudela in a position with very little outlook is pointless. That spot needs to belong to Simic or even Stronati.
He did have a minor knock that made him questionable ahead of the Barcelona, but came back and looked very sharp (became briefly twitter famous for his celebration of a perfectly timed intervention against Messi in the box). I do think that Slavia's lack of depth in defense (and having big matches against Barcelona & Plzen in like 4 days apart) probably made them rush him back into the lineup, for some reason finding quality center backs is a problem through every level of Czech football it seems. Brabec and Celustka played well enough against England that I can't argue against starting them in November even if their club form is mostly average, but we do need some new defensive options to step in. Injuries are a constant problem an Suchy was showing noticeable signs of slowing down even before. Kalas has rarely looked great for us, but in general it is hard to read to much into performances from 2017-8 since we were consistently underwhelming. Stronati is strong and good in the air, but his footwork make me skeptical that he can make it at the national team level. Simic needs to show a bit more, but at least has more potential between the two.
Yeah, Stronati is pretty terrible with the ball at his feet. If you combined his physical attributes with Hovorka's elegance you'd have a damn good CB. I feel like Simic is really our only CB who checks off most boxes from a scouting perspective (then probably Kalas on paper, though on the field is a different story). He looked like a pretty complete player at the U21 Euros back in 2017 and was a clear level above any other defender in that team. Still kind of unknown how much potential he truly has though since he's sort of been in the background for a while. Celustka has featured in every game under Silhavy and has performed well enough in my opinion. Considering he's now been our most consistent CB since Sivok, I'd say his starting spot is safe through Euro 2020.
Celustka hasn't been bad, but I still don't feel confident with our defense. I'm tempted to go with Slavia's center backs
It's copy and paste minus uncertainty about Schick's match-fitness + an apparent feud between our FA and product placement Leipzig: 🇨🇿 Trenér Jaroslav Šilhavý nominoval ke kvalifikačním utkáním s Kosovem a Bulharskem tyto hráče 🇽🇰🇧🇬 pic.twitter.com/7E7WUU4OFP— Česká fotbalová reprezentace (@ceskarepre_cz) November 5, 2019 Starting midfield looks strongest although thin since Husbauer and Krejci are really undeserving backups, and defense is more or less going to be the same. Assuming no development in the Schick front its going to be one of Krmencik or Ondrasek most likely.
No Schick, which is a massive blow (although during our most recent matches we finally had other goal scorers). Truthfully we should still be able to get the necessary points at home against Kosovo and against a downtrodden Bulgaria team in an empty stadium. Only other notable team news is Petr Sevcik gets a first senior team call up, I don't know what to think of this player... Sometimes looks an unplayable talent (most noticeably against Chelsea in London last spring) but sometimes gets lost in Slavia's rotation.
Kosovo will also be missing their top goal scoring threat as Vedat Muriqi is out, he's scored in something like 4 of their last matches (including their first goal against us).
Schick is a big loss for sure. Even through all his club struggles he still manages to be our most impactful player. As mentioned, I do feel a bit more comfortable given our recent increase in secondary scoring. We've scored seven goals since that defeat to Kosovo where Schick last scored. Of course Silhavy went ahead and summoned Dolezal. I don't understand why he overlooks Vydra. I was even half-expecting to see Hlozek called. Those two plus Matousek are really the only players who I'd consider somewhat as a like-for-like replacement for Schick based solely on skill level. All other options are pretty much hopeless in that category. Probably safe to assume we'll see the same lineup that defeated England. Only position in question is upfront where we have to replace Schick. I personally would start Krmencik given his superior track record for club and country. Plus, I think Ondrasek is better suited off the bench anyways with his highly energetic style.
I believe the forecast is cold but clear in Plzen today. I would also rather start Krmencik and let Ondrasek come on as an energy burst, especially since Krmencik is in decent club form while Ondrasek's season has been over for about a month. Otherwise don't see any changes, except maybe Kaderabek for Coufal... I might also keep him as a sub since he could replace either Coufal or Masopust if needed.