Czech national coach Denia: loss to England the worst moment

The worst moment under the Spanish coach

The Czech national team lost to England at London's Wembley Stadium, and after the match the Czechs' head coach, the Spaniard Denia, called the result the worst moment of his time in charge of the team. According to him, over eleven days the team played four tough matches against three very strong opponents.

“This is the worst moment for us, but we believe in this team and in the path we are following. We haven't been knocked out of the game, but we need to improve in everything — in the details, in the overall numbers. I need to get better too,” Denia said after the final whistle.

The coach named the lack of scoring chances as the main problem: without them, he said, it is impossible to win. Denia noted that the team needs to refine its game plan, details and set pieces, but he also praised the players for their effort.

On Sláma, Kane and the choice of goalkeeper

The coach separately commented on the situation with left-back Jiří Sláma, who started all four matches in a row and clearly tired against England. “Yes, it's true, he had some difficult moments, but it's important that he gets past that. I'm proud of how he handled these four matches — it was almost unbelievable,” Denia said, adding that he could have fielded Ondra Zmrzlý instead, but decided to trust Sláma, and would decide on the way forward later.

The coach also praised England striker Harry Kane, who scored a brace: according to Denia, Kane is one of the best players in the world, who understands absolutely everything and fights for his team; the Spaniard discussed this with England manager Thomas Tuchel as well.

Lukáš Horníček started in goal for the Czech national team for the second match in a row. Denia said the team has three top-level goalkeepers, all of whom he trusts, and that choosing Horníček this time does not mean he has secured the number-one spot — the decision for the next match will be made separately.

Four defeats in a row and injuries

The coach thanked the fans who supported the team despite the result, calling it an important moment and noting that the players are grateful for such support.

According to Denia, the first roughly seventy minutes of the match against England were the hardest stretch of the entire camp: the team needs a win to improve its position in the standings. Of the four matches played during the camp, the Czech team lost all four, but the coach stressed that the coaching staff has no doubts about the chosen path of the team's development. He recalled that the three previous matches went decently, while the fourth turned out to be genuinely tough — partly because of the large number of injured players in the squad.

Source: sport.cz