Kadlec's issues pretty much dealt with him attack far too much in the LB spot. He was constantly running up the field which left his man wide open. Pushing him to CB is a lot smarter because Kadlec is a good defender when he doesn't go forward. Having Hubschman really helps because he allows our more creative players to attack more while he stops the opponent's attacks. As for the Poland-Russia match, I don't know how to feel. We are currently 2nd in the group with 3 points, Russia has 4, Poland 2 and Greece 1. Pretty much a win or a draw against Poland gets up through no matter what which is nice. Hope Rosicky is going to be good to go for Poland.
I would say it was mainly just an usually poor performance on Kadlec's part, but it may have been made worse worse by not having Hübschman to in front of the back line. Still Kadlec was all over the place, and not in a good way, he was consistently out of of position throughout the first half (and really most of the match). Certainly the first goal, Kadlec tracked the wrong man, leaving the Russians with a free cross from his side, and on the 2nd goal he's just kind of on a walkabout near the top of the box while the player that he should have picked up gets an easy goal. Kadlec is usually one of our most reliable players, but he had a very bad day. I also do think that in our current roster it is best for us to have Kadlec play centrally, even though I was initially skeptical of the idea.
As for Poland, they worry me more than Greece and not just because they are the host nation. It's not a side of overwhelming quality, and I don't think they have any edge in talent vs us. That said, from what I've seen they launch into the attack quick and direct, which kind of plays to our weakness, and I think they are a much greater danger on the counterattack than Greece. Then you have to add in the fact that they are the host nation and will play with a lot of energy. I don't know really, they have a few very dangerous individual players, and have shown flashes of good play in this tournament. That said, I don't see any reason that we can't get a result from them. Goal differential won't actually be an issue with Poland since we have 3 points and they have 2 right now, it would be an issue if we draw Poland and Greece pulled an upset and defeated Russia.
Thank you for the kind replies but wow, I feel really dumb. I totally forgot about Poland being on 2 pts and you guys on 3 of course. With that now in mind I think your chances of advancing are certainly high. I clearly rate the Czech's a superior side in terms of talent to Poland but Poland will probably play above their heads given the many circumstances involved. BUT I don't see any reason you can't come away with at least a draw. Good luck, I will be rooting for Czechia! P.S. Is Cech possibly dealing with a minor nagging injury of some sort? Because he just hasn't looked as sharp as one would expect from a player of his caliber, so far.
It has to do with the defense in front of him. Chelsea's defense is much much better and the shots that they allow tend to be shots that are a little easier to save. Most of the goals Cech allows for Czech are from close range.
Rosicky's tests showed no problem with his Achilles, assuming the pain dies down he should be ready to play against Poland. Čech had his shoulder looked at, and it also seemed to just be a bit of pain and nothing more. Both will most likely be fine for Saturday.
It would definitely hurt our chances a lot. I'm also not a fan of having Kolar play the Rosicky role in his absence since they don't really play the same style. I would probably rather shift Jiras back centrally and plug in a right wing player if we are forced to play without Rosicky. Poland has some players with injury concerns as well last I read, I remember Perquis was particularly in doubt. It sounds like there will be a lot of Czech fans in Wroclaw tomorrow, hopefully that can partially off-set the host nation advantage.
It's starting to look like we won't know for sure until the starting roster is announced. edit: the latest twitter speculation sounds like isn't promising.
Of course, it's exactly what I didn't want: Czech Rep: Čech - Gebre Selassie, Sivok, Kadlec, Limberský - Plašil, Hübschman - Jiráček, Kolář, Pilař - Baroš. That said nobody is going to replace Rosicky, and everyone is going to have to step up there play a little bit to get the result.
Ah wow I don't think Kolar is good enough. I'd rather have Plasil play Rosicky's role and bring in Pekhart. Not so optimistic.
The first 20 minutes I was thinking, just survive this wave... It turned out to last closer to 30 minutes, but it finally seemed to break. We took control the last 15 minutes, and it was really good to see that possession. They're the team with the pressure to win (and home crowd), so they will throw everything at us. Cech is playing well, that's good to see. I wonder if we keep Limbersky on, he's been a playing perfectly fine, but with that Polish right side having a yellow card for a whole half is dangerous.
Wow what a thrilling game. Kadlec saved our ass with that last play. Can't believe Greece is moving on too! I am hoping we draw Denmark. Any team from Group B will be tough to beat.
Awesome! Baros appeared to bring his game today! Russia....ha! ha! Putin probably can't roll over UEFA, right?
Okay, finally home and at a computer. Some quick thoughts: 1) Once Pilař found his footing (literally, it was very slippery), his pace, workrate and possession completely neutralized Piszczek's ability to get forward. 2) I was happy to see Baroš have a decent performance, and more importantly, to see him cheered following the match. He's been past his prime the last couple of years, but he still scored 48 goals for our country and I didn't like seeing him whistled and booed against Greece (since if anything it's the managers fault for continuing to start him). 3) Jiráček is just great. 4) Limbersky and Selassie played very well in defense and going forward. Kadlec, I already mentioned for his late save, and Sivok was strong as well. 5) Bilek, has taken a lot of deserved criticism as manager (including quite a bit from me), but since the Russia match we've been much better organized. Advancing to the quarterfinals was pretty much our pre-tournament expectations, and we did it. Nothing negative for today, too busy celebrating.
6) I also forgot in my thoughts last night to give credit to Hubschman, who very much was a candidate for MOTM. Just good all around defensive midfield play, and he played the ball that sprung Baros for the counterattack that lead to the goal. 7) Can't wait to find out who our opponent will be (and yes, I also am hoping it's Denmark).
I know what you mean about Baros. He hasn't played that well the majority of the tournament but I hate seeing him get boo'd. Baros isn't the player he used to be but against Poland he was trying and hustling up top which is what you ask for from your striker. He was a great player and deserves respect. On another note, looks like we are playing Portugal. Selassie will be covering Ronaldo and Libersky against Nani. Time to see how good we really are. I think the only advantage we have is our midfield with Rosicky is better than there's and Cech is better than their keeper. We need to shut down their midfield and can't really attack down the flanks or we will be exposed with pace.
Indeed it will be Portugal, which is team that I like our chances against better than Germany, but it will certainly take a tremendous effort and a recovered Rosicky.
Rosicky did a full training session today, and a decision will apparently be made tonight as to whether he plays.