Czechia might not be one of the most feared names at the European Championships, but they’re definitely one of the most persistent. Since succeeding Czechoslovakia, they have qualified for eight successive tournaments and even came within touching distance of the trophy. Their history is curious; they’re a side that have not, in recent years, been among the favourites, but have alternated bizarrely between group stage elimination and impressive knockout runs. This year, they travel to Germany to face a group where a second qualifying spot is theirs for the taking – but with hardly any experience under a new manager, can they stabilise enough to progress?
Embed from Getty ImagesAnyone who’s ever felt like they’ve been thrown in the deep end ought to feel some empathy with Ivan Hašek. The Czech native took over from Jaroslav Šilhavý at the start of this year after a series of less-than-impressive qualifying performances. Though on paper Czechia qualified comfortably for this summer’s tournament, coming second in Group E and barely behind Albania in first, the performances left much to be desired. Underwhelming draws with Moldova and Albania, and the discomfort with which they scraped past the Faroe Islands 1-0, were among the reasons for Šilhavý’s resignation. That left Hašek to step into his shoes with only four games to get to know his players ahead of this year’s tournament.
It’s not that Hašek lacks experience by any means; he’s almost as persistently present in Czech football as his nation are in the Euros. As a player he captained the side to a quarterfinal appearance in the 1990 World Cup and as a manager he led Sparta Prague to consecutive league titles. He had a very brief spell previously as national manager before a series of club roles across Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai. Hašek has played and managed plenty of football in his days, but he – being as entwined as he is with the history of Czech football – will know exactly the scale of the challenge that awaits him.
It’s not that Czechia have necessarily been hugely outclassed at major tournaments – it’s not even, in one particular case, that they haven’t deserved to progress. Perennial participation on the European stage has seen them confusingly alternate between group stage exits and progression to the last eight or beyond – and when they’ve progressed, they’ve had a serious go at it and fallen at the finest of margins. In 1996, it took a golden goal from Germany to beat them in the final. In 2012, it was a late effort by a certain Cristiano Ronaldo that knocked them out in the quarter-finals. In 2021, they were narrowly beaten at the same stage by Denmark. Perhaps the harshest heartbreak, though, was in 2004. Remember the silver goal rule? Czechia’s team from that tournament certainly do. Traianos Dellas’ header in the dying moments of the first half of extra time, due to that short-lived law, sent Greece straight to the final. A Czech side who, in that tournament, had completed no fewer than three comeback wins from losing positions, didn’t have the opportunity to do so in the never-played second half of extra time and their final hopes were dashed.
Each of those narrow knockout eliminations have alternated with group stage exits – it’s a frustratingly inconsistent pattern that they will hope to overturn this summer. According to the algorithm that has held true since 1996, Czechia’s quarter-final run in 2021 would mean they are set for a group exit this time.
Embed from Getty ImagesAvoiding that fate is by no means beyond their reach. They are in Group F alongside Portugal, Georgia, and Türkiye. The former will be a baptism of fire for them as they open their tournament in Leipzig on 18th June; the Portuguese boast one of the most talented lineups in the competition and will expect to snatch three points off the Czechs in that opener. They follow it up, though, with a slightly easier test against Georgia (the lowest ranked side of the tournament), before closing the group stage with what will probably be their most important match. Czechia face Türkiye on 26th June in Hamburg and, assuming Portugal and Georgia are at opposite ends of the group as expected, that clash will determine who takes the runner-up spot and progresses to the knockout stages.
It’s not an impossible test on paper, but the problem is that the draft on that paper is pretty rough at the moment. Hašek has only had four games to get to grips with his squad and the side is a long way from settled; there has been a different defensive lineup in all of those games and the attack has been well rotated too. Which eleven players will step out in Leipzig is very much up in the air, with a couple of standout exceptions. Captain Tomáš Souček is the literal and figurative heart of this Czech side, providing leadership in midfield and of course the odd bullet header (their opponents will want to keep an eye out on set pieces). He is likely to be joined by Václav Černý, who struggled to break into the Wolfsburg XI this year but matched Souček’s three goals in qualifying. Alongside them will also be a man who seriously loves the Euros: Patrick Schick.
His outrageous effort on the very first matchday of EURO2020 was voted the best of the tournament, and he matched Cristiano Ronaldo for the Golden Boot too. Schick has had a season of dreams with Bayer Leverkusen and arrives at the tournament that he made his playground last time around in strong form.
Hašek does have other places to turn for goals; he has tried out a host of young attacking options in the limited time he has had to experiment. Mojmí Chytil, David Jurásek, and Adam Hložek all enjoyed minutes in their boss’s short but unbeaten tenure. They recorded 2-1 wins over Norway and Armenia in Hašek’s first games in charge in March, following that with a thumping 7-1 victory over Malta and another 2-1 win against North Macedonia. So far, so good – but those sides (with no disrespect to Italy’s bogey team North Macedonia) are not of the same calibre that they will have to face if they’re to put on a show at this tournament. Hašek does not have a lot of time to find his winning formula – but could it be that he has all the parts needed at his disposal, with Souček and Schick the stars of the show?
Only time will tell, but you can follow all their efforts here on FromTheSpot.