On Monday, the youngsters were given a day off by the coaches, only a meeting awaited them, at which they had to – somewhat self-deprecatingly – look again at the situations and abuses from Sunday’s match against Latvia. On Tuesday, after lunch overseas time, training and the actual preparation for the quarterfinals awaited them. But what was behind Sunday’s failure?
“The match did not go well for us, which shows the immaturity of the players’ heads or their immaturity. We started in a way that we cannot start, because it is a gamble. We always appeal to the players to go into the match well prepared not only physically, but also mentally. And unfortunately it wasn’t,” said Kalous.
He revealed that after the match, the players locked themselves in the cabin and said a lot to each other, which will hopefully have a positive impact on the duel with the Americans. “In order to correct the impression that we messed up unnecessarily. The boys play for the Czechia, not for themselves, and they need to realize that. I believe that they will learn and it will never happen again,” said the coach.
It is clear, however, that the favorite is clear in the quarter-finals, and if the Czechs were to get past the American selection, it would be tantamount to a miracle. “The USA is without any doubt the top team. But it is absolutely impossible to start with a defeatist mood beforehand. If every player gives their best from the first throw-in to the last second, it can even end with the victory of an outsider who is not given a chance by the public and the experts. a lot of examples where on paper a weaker team succeeded in such matches. And I believe in the players,” said Kalous.
Since he interviewed journalists before training, he did not reveal whether there will be fundamental changes in the lineup and whether goalkeeper Jan Bednář, who was not very convincing in the matches, will get another chance. “Ondra Pavelec (goalkeeper coach) talks to the goalkeepers every day, discusses a lot with them. He knows exactly how the boys feel in their roles and knows what’s going on in their heads. He tries to help the boys, they also have support from us . He’s not breaking a stick over anybody,” Kalous said.
