Before the championship, the fans’ attention turned mainly to Tomáš Souček, who found himself in the selection of the biggest stars of the Premier League. At the Euro tournament, Souček is currently working as an honest football worker. And Patrik Schick moved into the position of a hero.
He scored a goal against Scotland with his head and then a spectacular shot from almost half of the field. Against Croatia, he added his third goal in the tournament. And the marketers would be happy, it was again a goal, so to speak, with a story. The Czech striker earned that goal with his own blood. It was his dripping red blood that became visible evidence that he had previously received an elbow in his nose. The judges went to check everything on the video. And then he awarded the Czechs a penalty. Schick literally washed himself off the blood – and transformed it.
Thanks to that, the Czechs can win the group. Like their famous predecessors at Euro 2004. Recall it in the video:
Remember the famous Euro 2004, not only with Vladimír Šmicer. (Video: News List)
As for the possible win in the group, the rafters say: Only if there is something to stand for. And they will probably be right in a way, because the winner of the “Czech” group D is waiting for the second team of group F, nicknamed the group of death, in the spider of the tournament in the round of 16. France, Portugal and Germany are expected to advance, and Hungary also plays in the group. And today’s matches may be a better indication of who will move on from here. But everything will definitely be decided by the third round of group matches next week.
Let’s continue mathematics for a while. It’s a bit boring, but it’s necessary, this is what the tournament is about.
The Czechs will face a duel with England on Tuesday, at Wembley, ie at the same stadium, where England surprisingly only drew 0-0 with Scotland in Friday’s emotional battle with deep historical undertones. And in a way, she refused to be promoted to the role of a clear winner of the group.
First, second, or third?
Czechs and English now have 4 points each and Czechs have a better score difference. The winner of the mutual match wins the group, the draw establishes the triumphant of the group Čechy.
If coach Šilhavý’s team loses to the favored England, he may be second in the group. The second team of group E, in which the Swedes, Slovaks, Spaniards and Poles will play, would be waiting for him in the round of 16.
The combination of a possible Czech defeat with England and the victory of the Croats over the Scots, which would also erase the current Czech lead of 3 goals by the difference in score, can still Schicka et al. knock down to third place in the group.
Well, watch out here. Not every third team will make it to the round of 16, only the top four out of six. But it is true that with the gain of 4 points, which the Czechs already have in their pocket, it would have to be a really extremely unfavorable coincidence for coach Šilhavý’s team to drop out of the eight finals. In principle, it can be said that if he does not lose to England in a crushing way on Tuesday, he should not miss the procedure.
End of numbers, let’s talk about football. And the Czechs did well beyond expectations in a duel with the Croats. And not only because the opponent, the reigning vice-champion of the world, is definitely not shining in this Euro tournament yet.
Those who are not lazy are green
The Croats play slowly, they lack sprints, runs, they are literally lazy to step. In the mutual match, the Czechs in total ran 13 kilometers more than their opponent, in rounding in this factor they won 114: 101, and that is a really huge difference.
The athletic, physical aspect is peculiar to the Czech game, so it somehow automatically transferred to the sphere of the national team through the Slavia players, who in the recent “Součkov” period even dominated in this direction even in the Champions League.
The movement and especially the sections run in the sprint today belong to the weapons that win in football. And it must be said that Croatia is still choosing a different path in old age, which is dominated by longer preparatory combinations and the individual quality of its players.
This was reflected in the second minute of the second half. The Croats surprisingly quickly played a balloon, Perišič went to the run, Coufal’s legs slipped – and it was 1: 1.
The Croats thus reacted to the first half, in which the Czechs were visibly more active and had the advantage, which they also expressed thanks to a changed penalty kick.
Lineker disagrees with the penalty
Needless to say, if Schick’s nose hadn’t run out of his nose, Spanish Judge Del Cero probably wouldn’t have noticed the whole incident. But the sight of red body fluid prompted him to consult with a video referee. And to go to the screen in person to go to an air battle conducted earlier in the Croatian penalty area.
There he saw Lovren’s elbow in Schick’s face. And in my judgment, at that moment, he could do nothing but judge the situation as a foul. And thus order a penalty kick against Croatia.
Encouraging to see that VAR is equally as ludicrous elsewhere. Never a penalty.
— Gary Lineker ???? (@GaryLineker) June 18, 2021
In this point, therefore, I dare to disagree with the legend of English football, now BBC supereexpert Gary Lineker, according to whom the penalty should not be whistled for such interventions. This may not have been the case in his playing days, but according to current trends, in my opinion definitely.
A penalty was therefore ordered. And it was interesting to watch Patrik Schick rush to her execution. Even though they had changed his blood-stained jersey just a few seconds before, they had stopped the bleeding from his nose with a swab and washed his face.
In recent years and months, Patrik Schick may have worked for someone as a phlegmatic who doesn’t care. The match with the Scots, in which he scored twice, but in him he clearly woke up the predator. A hunter who goes after goals, after winning tournaments. And we will see, even after the crown of the king of archers.
At the 2004 Euro in Portugal, Milan Baroš imagined him. And Patrik Schick is not that far away from his five interventions at the time.
The peak is elsewhere, but the Czechs may surprise you
Of course, Schick’s shooting ambitions depend on how many more matches the Czech team will play. Let’s count together: On Tuesday England, then with a high probability eight rounds. And then maybe three more duels. But we have already run very far in fantasy.
In any case, the Czechs are gaining confidence in the tournament. While in the duel with the Scots the goalkeeper Vaclík was under Czech fire for a while, in the duel with the Croats it was roughly the case that Šilhavý’s team was better in the first half and the second was even. A few insidious projectiles from Croatian football boots rather missed the Czech goal.
The duel with England will test the Czech forces even better. And he deals the cards in front of the knockout section. On the one hand, it is true that, for example, teams from France and Italy, as well as many others, are performing much more advanced, sophisticated football at the tournament than the Czechs. Let’s keep that in mind and don’t build pointless air locks.
On the other hand, it is true that the elimination part of the tournament can at times resemble the lottery, in which luck and a few individual spells can also play a role. Twenty-five years ago, the Czechs reached the final of the 1996 Euro in England. So anything is possible. This year.
