Why Did Czechia Sacrifice Beauty for Results at the World Cup? Team Captain Admits Harsh Reality

The Koreans, ranked 15 places higher in the FIFA rankings, gave them a lesson in agility and inventiveness – in a word, speed. While their opponents constantly accelerated and pushed forward, the Czech players slowed the game down with numerous backward passes. On the other hand, it must be said that the Czechs scored a goal from an inch-perfect offside when the score was 1-1 and also had a clear-cut chance to equalize at 2-2. However, they ultimately lost by a single goal and failed to secure any points in Group A.

"The national team will not play romantic football at this championship. The players will not be exchanging short passes on the ground, nor will they even attempt to. However, they will be persistent, tenacious, and downright unpleasant for their opponents. This is because coach Miroslav Koubek is a pragmatist and knows that with this team, he won't have time for anything more. He must try to threaten from the air whenever possible. That will be the most effective Czech path to goals," wrote an iDnes.cz editor directly from Mexico.

Czech national team manager Pavel Nedvěd warned fans even before the World Cup began: "Our style of play might not appeal to you, but sometimes beauty must be sacrificed for results." Captain Ladislav Krejčí, scorer of the only Czech goal against the Koreans, added: "We would be happy if we could outplay our opponents. However, we know the situation we are in as a national team and what our playing style is."

The Czechs will next face the South Africans on Thursday, June 18th, in Atlanta, USA. If they want to succeed, they must confirm what was written above – threaten from the air – because their next opponent has players who are, on average, 6 centimeters shorter. "This must certainly be exploited to revive our Mexican-American dream. The game will be played in an air-conditioned stadium, which could be a small help for the Czechs, as the midday sun in America and Mexico is hotter than at home," iDnes.cz urges.

If the Czechs want to be successful in their next two group stage matches, their best striker must awaken. Patrick Schick had only 11 touches of the ball against South Korea and only touched it twice in the opponent's penalty area without a shot on goal, despite the German Leverkusen forward having scored 26 goals in 54 national team appearances.

"One of the crucial questions for the coach before the match against South Africa is how to better utilize Schick. Because he failed to make an impact against the Korean center-backs," believes the Czech author. And the second essential thing will be to improve the defense. The Koreans had many runs behind the Czech defense, which had significant gaps. Captain Son Heung-min alone had six shots on goal, and he only played 69 minutes.

"We are getting used to a new defensive tactic, so the players' nervousness is understandable. However, compactness and impenetrability must not be missing, and they were absent from our play. We must change this," stated Captain Krejčí.