The Czech Republic was able to make little or no impression in the first half of the meeting with Portugal at the European Championship in Germany. Although the Czechs are keeping the Portuguese at 0-0 for the time being, they are showing very little with the ball. Viewers on social media are shocked by the play of national coach Ivan Hasek’s formation.
Three years ago, the Czech Republic surprised friend and foe by knocking the Dutch national team out of the tournament in the eighth finals of the 2020 European Championship, which was played a year later due to the corona crisis. Prior to the meeting in Budapest, the Dutch team was the big favorite to reach the next round and had the better of the game for a long time, but after a big missed opportunity by Donyell Malen and an unfortunate handball by Matthijs de Ligt, things went completely wrong. De Ligt had to go off with a red card and the Czech Republic gratefully took advantage of the man-man situation. The Dutch lost 0-2 and were therefore prematurely out of the tournament.
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The Czech Republic lost to Denmark in the next round, but could of course look back on a more than successful tournament with a quarter-final place. Whether the Czechs can match that performance in Germany this summer remains to be seen. To achieve this, they seem to have to perform a lot better in the coming matches than in the first half against Portugal. Although the Czechs kept their goal clean in the first 45 minutes, they escaped a number of times and showed little to nothing in possession. “The Czechs haven’t really wasted time with passing exercises, have they?”, is what X says. If the Czech Republic had the ball, the team would quickly lose it.
“No idea how they got here, but those Czechs aren’t really into football! That right back is really a drama,” wrote another, while ten minutes before the half-time signal sounded, another wondered whether the Czechs had even come out of the dressing room. However, Portugal failed to gain distance in the first half. The 2016 European champion certainly had opportunities, but Cristiano Ronaldo, among others, did not yet have his sights set. “Great Portugal, although they lack a Weghorst type,” someone writes with a wink.
Both Portugal and the Czech Republic will have to do something different after the break to be able to leave the field with the win, although the Czechs will of course sign for a point. The other match in Group F between Turkey and Georgia ended 3-1. Will the meeting between Portugal and the Czech Republic also have a winner? Follow developments in Leipzig live here!
Czechs haven’t really wasted time on passing drills, have they? #portsj
— Erik van Hafter (@ErikvanHafter) June 18, 2024
The Czechs have been looking for the ball for over half an hour 😀#portsj
— Nico A. Inberg (@NicoInberg) June 18, 2024
The Czech Republic breathes new life into catenaccio defense #PORTSJ. #EURO2024
— Kenny Romer (@Kenny1993NL) June 18, 2024
