The Czechs are in crisis mode. Hallelujah. Pavel Nedved, their blonde-maned, swashbuckling midfielder throughout the 1990s and early 2000s is overseeing a recruitment process as the federation’s sporting director.
Nedved has a decision to make before hosting the Republic of Ireland in the World Cup playoff semi-final on March 26th.
Stick or twist – keep interim manager Jaroslav Köstl or go to market, where Turkish coach Fatih Terim is reportedly a candidate to replace Ivan Hašek.
Hašek was sacked in October following the 2-1 defeat to the Faroe Islands.
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“Jaroslav Köstl is here,” said Nedved last week, “and it would be inappropriate for me to speculate about any names we may or may not have contacted.
“You know how things work in the national team set-up; there’s very little time to make big changes.”
Köstl is only 35 and comes with no managerial experience having been assistant coach at Slavia Prague for six seasons before being appointed Hašek’s number two.
“We lost in Armenia and almost fired the coach,” noted the Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson. “It is a similar situation.”
There is one obvious difference: the FAI held their nerve after defeat in Yerevan.
Köstl has somewhat steadied the ship. Last Monday, the Czechs beat Gibraltar 6-0 in Olomouc to secure the runners-up spot in Group L behind Croatia.
The players reaction to victory was to leave the pitch. Failure to recognise the fans, however, led to the federation stripping Tomás Soucek of the captaincy and withholding match bonuses for the entire squad.
“The FAČR executive committee is disappointed with the players’ behaviour after yesterday’s match against Gibraltar and apologises to the fans,” read an official statement.
“Unfortunately, the players’ attitude completely overshadowed the performance on the pitch and the positive fact of the national team’s advancement to the playoffs for the 2026 World Cup.
“None of the players stand above the country they have the honour of representing, and none of the players are more than a fan who dedicates their resources, time, and energy to supporting the Czech national team.”
Oh dear.
Crucially, Soucek lost the captaincy not his place in the squad. It would be counterproductive for Köstl, or whoever is appointed before March, to look beyond the West Ham midfielder.
“The players’ reaction should have been the opposite,” added the FAČR. “They should have thanked the active fans. Not only for yesterday’s support, but also for their long-term and tireless support throughout the entire qualifying cycle after a series of unconvincing performances.”
Despite the mess, Czech football remains a superior brand to Irish football. Shamrock Rovers were soundly beaten 4-1 last month by Sparta Prague in the Uefa Conference League and the current squad leans heavily on its famous Prague clubs, where Slavia are two points clear of Sparta in the domestic league.
Soucek remains the star turn but Lyon attacker Adam Karabec and Slavia’s Michal Sadílek are quality players that Ger Dunne, the FAI head of analysis, will include in a detailed dossier for Hallgrímsson to mull over.
“We got Ireland, who are probably in their best form at the moment,” said Nedved. “They beat Portugal, they advanced nicely after winning in Hungary. It is always difficult in these types of playoff matches. It is always more about the head than the legs. I experienced it 20 years ago, but they were very difficult matches mentally.”
Nedved is referring to the Czechoslovakian glory days at Italia ’90 when they lost a quarter-final 1-0 to eventual champions West Germany. The Czech’s last appearance at the World Cup was in 2006, when they failed to get out of their group.
If Ireland escape Prague they will almost certainly face Denmark at the Aviva Stadium.
The Danes are reeling from the 4-2 loss to Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday, their only defeat in a tricky Group C that also included Greece and Belarus.
North Macedonia were making steady progress in Group J until a 7-1 collapse to Wales forced them to use their Nations League wild card to make the playoffs.
Nobody needs reminding of 2017 in Dublin when a hat-trick by Christian Eriksen spearheaded a 5-1 win for Denmark that sent the Ireland into a tailspin that was only arrested by the 2-0 win over Portugal last week.
Eriksen, now 33, and having recovered from a cardiac arrest he suffered on the pitch at Euro 2021, was an unused substitute at Hampden.
