The same Pavelka that missed our best opportunity against England? (Though Soucek's header and Schick's shot from distance probably came closer)
We can lose this game in the second half and I won't care because that first half was the best I've seen us play in years.
I try not to read anything into friendlies, but certainly more evidence that we should finish 2nd in our group. Any players standing out aside from David Pavelka's suddenly clinical left foot?
It's been such a collective effort that everyone looks good right now. Darida has been lively, carrying the ball forward into open space on seemingly every attack. Both fullbacks are pressing nicely and linking up with the wingers, who while I don't rate highly, have worked hard. Schick looks classy as he usually does with the ball, but I still feel he lacks the quality support that he needs (a Dockal or Vydra) to really threaten.
Huh, maybe there is a reason we keep starting Novak instead of converting one of our right backs... edit: Didn't help that Suchy definitely didn't look full speed in covering
I am about to leave the office so probably won't catch but maybe the very end. I think unless there is a complete collapse in the rest of the match we've at least calmed some nerves about the sky falling going into the rest of qualifying. Although the match tracker is starting to read like an injury list
Well it was good while it lasted. I expected the changes might ruin our flow, but overall that first half was fantastic for us.
Just watched the Brazil goals, the first goal was a dumb giveaway by Gebre Selassie, but definitely should have been covered by a fully fit/in form Suchy. By the next series of matches he will hopefully be at full speed. The 2nd, I have no idea what either center back was doing, both shifted left and Coufal helplessly running back to cover an empty side of the field. The 3rd was just beautiful movement and positioning by the Brazil attack. I still feel this team + Dockal and hopefully a few players recovering/developing should be 2nd in this group.
Tough result, but the second half showed why Brazil are levels above us. It's just a shame we conceded such a silly goal so early in that half and losing key players like Schick, Darida, and Celustka within 10 minutes really disrupted our flow. We also seemed exhausted in that second half, having put so much into that first half. Coufal, for example, put in a solid shift, but it was evident that we has tired and got progressively weaker as the game went on. Suchy reacted poorly on the first goal, but overall I feel his presence helped. He and Celustka are the best pair we currently have. Pavelka and Soucek worked very well. The former has been a nice surprise under Silhavy, while the latter is quickly becoming a vital player for us. Masopust was excellent and certainly exceeded expectations. Zmrhal, overall, was meh as he usually is. This position is definitely our weakest still with central defence.
Sparta refused to release Hlozek for the U-17 Championship, which is bad for our competitive prospects but mildly promising that a 16 year-old is already considered a key player.
Despite not taking our best player, our U17 team has advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Greece 2-0 and we actually came withing a few minutes of a perfect record in the group stage (we conceded very late equalizers against Ireland and Belgium). We play France in the next round.
4.6.2011 se pro chlapce vyrůstajícího na Vysočině stalo něco tak neuvěritelného, že o tom ani nikdy nesnil...Hrat za narodní tým České republiky!To něco neuvěřitelného dnešním dnem končí. Po dlouhém přemýšlení jsem… https://t.co/QioVHYFt1e— Theodor Gebre Selassie (@TheoGS23) May 21, 2019 Theodor Gebre Selassie is retiring from international football citing health and family reasons. His 54 caps made him the 2nd most experienced player currently on the national team. A solid player for years and wore the captains armband last year, and definitely most memorable for Euro 2012 performances.
Yea I saw that. I am sad to see him go, but we are pretty good at the right back spot for a few years at least with Kaderabek. I guess that solves our problem of how to play Selassie and Kaderabek in the same team. First black player to play for our nation, and he did us proud. He was a really good player for us, and I hope he continues his career.
🇨🇿 V nominaci Jaroslava Šilhavého pro kvalifikační utkání s Bulharskem 🇧🇬 a Černou Horou 🇲🇪 se premiérově objevuje záložník Michal Sadílek, vrací se útočník Libor Kozák ✅ pic.twitter.com/IEkFPpI3RJ— Česká fotbalová reprezentace (@ceskarepre_cz) May 28, 2019 GK: Easy choices, and a strong position Defense: Easy choices (well Brabec is questionable), but a position where we are lacking. Krejci has been occasionally playing left-back for Bologna this spring so he may be a defense/midfield option the way Vydra is a midfield/forward option. Midfield: Missing Darida, Dockal, and Barak to injury is not ideal. Soucek needs to be the leader in the middle with young players (Kral and Sadilek) potentially getting put into a more important role. I expect Masopust and Jankto to start on the wings, both actually have improved as the season went on. Forward: This is the worst looking position even after the midfield injuries; Dolezal is not even a great league striker and while its nice that Kozak is slowly rebuilding his career after many injuries; I don't think he's national team material at all right now. Schick will start both matches of course, and hopefully can put in full 90s. Krmencik is still injured. Some additional notes, Silhavy considered calling up 16-year-old Adam Hlozek but ultimately decided some time with the U-21 would be better. He also spoke with Davie Selke, but Selke still wants to try for Germany. I don't have high hopes for amazing performances, but we are playing Bulgaria and Montenegro so even with a diminished roster we should have a chance. Best 11 in my opinion with this squad -------------------Vaclik or Pavlenka------------- Kaderabek----Suchy -----Celustka---Boril ----------Kral--------Soucek------Sadilek------ Masopust--------------------------------Jankto- -----------------------Schick-------------------------- If we are defensively concerned, put Pavelka in for one of Kral or Sadilek. I think those 2 provide more creativity and we lack a true playmaker with Dockal out.
Overall, good team selection from Silhavy for what we have currently. The midfield injuries combined with the questionable form of some key players does raise concern, but these are opponents we still need to beat, especially at home. The forward position is without question the weakest. Schick and Vydra have had abysmal seasons and Dolezal is not national team material for me (would rather see Hlozek or Matousek instead). I actually don't mind Kozak being included because of this. With his move to Sparta, it'd be nice if he can become what Skoda was few a years ago, a solid league striker that offers some national team depth. He still can have a few good years in the Czech league, albeit he stays healthy, plus I think he has more upside than Dolezal (as strange as that sounds for his age). A midfield of Kral, Soucek, Sadilek looks promising and is no doubt a likely variable in the future, but realistically I think it's a bit too soon to see in a qualifier right now. I'd expect Silhavy will continue with Pavelka, who I'd say has been one of the best performers under Silhavy so far. I'm open to a few variations, though the initial line-up I drew up upon seeing this squad had Jankto in central midfield with Pavelka-Soucek and Kopic on the wing with Masopust. But again, given how our current squad looks, I don't think one midfield or wing variable will look significantly better than the other.
I am so happy for Kozak. Guy has had terrible luck over the years. I know the Czech league is pretty shit, but we need people who can score. Kozak was also decent with his feet for being a big guy.
I probably would have gone with Matousek and Hlozek, but I think there is a bit of an over-emphasis on seniority with our player selection. Both have way more upside than Kozak or Dolezal, and quite frankly have are already performing better in the same competition. I do feel happy for Kozak and hope he does well if given a chance, but 4 of his 7 goals at the end of the year were penalties... if were to bring back a former forward it probably would have been a slight edge to Necid. I think he had 9 goals or so with a mid-table team in the Netherlands which is still a slightly better competition (although apparently we passed them in coefficient briefly for next year's European positions).