It cannot have been a very pleasant speech Czech coach Pavel Vrba delivered to his charges in the dressing room at the half-time break during Friday’s game against Croatia. The Czechs needed at least a point after their opening-day loss to Spain, but – at 1-0 down – looked to be heading for a heavy defeat.
“I told them to play football, because without that we can’t compete against Croatia, because they were stronge,” the coach recalled. “We were hiding and not linking up or putting together moves. We were getting into difficult situations and kicking the ball into space aimlessly.”
Those words did not hit home …