“It was a bit tense, not so much from our side. We didn’t play at our best, we wanted to present ourselves differently. But the goal was to progress, and now nobody will ask what kind of football we played,” Kovář evaluated Tuesday’s home rematch of the draw (0:0) against Iceland.
The match was special for him. The opponent did not threaten the Czech goal for the first time until the 56th minute. “I didn’t catch the ball at all in the first tackle, my kicking wasn’t ideal either. I expected Iceland to push in the second half. But I still have to be ready, goalkeeper is a specific position. You never know what can happen, one shot can decide. I concentrated the whole time,” described the 22-year-old, who is currently on loan at Sparta Prague from England’s Manchester United.
But he was definitely not bored since the mentioned first intervention. He headed Baldursson’s shot from the edge of the box over, then Thorhallsson narrowly missed the left gallows from his point of view.
After Thordarson’s ground shot, again from inside the penalty area, Kovář had to go to the ground quickly to push the ball beyond the three posts. Iceland’s pressure peaked in the opening minute of set-up. Fridriksson was left alone on the edge of the small box after the high center, he chose a shot from the first. But the Czech goalkeeper was in the right place.
“Fortunately, it hit me. I would choose the last procedure as the most important procedure. Thank God the head was there,” Kovář revealed with a smile that he had neutralized the key situation in a different way than with gloves.
The lion cubs also had their chances, but none of them ended with a goal. The match ended in a goalless draw, and after a 2:1 win in Iceland, coach Jan Suchopárek’s players can look forward to the June European Championship in Romania and Georgia. “There are sixteen top teams and it doesn’t matter who we get. But it would be nice to have a lighter group so that we have a better chance of advancing,” Kovář expressed his wishes for the October draw.
Anything can happen, but as long as the form and game workload hold up, one of the Czech playoff heroes should not miss the nomination. It would be the third youth EURO for Kovář, but he does not feel like a magnet for success. “Football is a team effort, it’s not just about me. The boys deserve a lot of thanks for how they fought today and turned the game around,” he praised the performance of his teammates.
