Czechs expect a different South Africa, says coach Koubek
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Group A – South Korea v Czech Republic – Estadio Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico – June 11, 2026 Czech Republic coach Miroslav Koubek reacts REUTERS/Paul Childs/ File Photo
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ATLANTA, June 17 : The Czech Republic face South Africa in their second Group A game after they both lost their opening World Cup fixtures, but the European side’s manager Miroslav Koubek does not expect their opponents to play in a similar way to their first match.
The Czechs lost 2-1 to South Korea, while South Africa suffered a 2-0 defeat against Mexico in a game where manager Hugo Broos deployed a rarely used five-man defence. Koubek does not anticipate such conservative tactics when they meet on Thursday.
“South Africa chose an unusual style against Mexico,” Koubek told reporters on Wednesday.
“They preferred players of different types than usual. That was a different set-up there. So I’m not expecting it to be the same this time. With us, I’m expecting them to play with a slightly different strategy than they did against Mexico.”
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A win is almost crucial at this stage for both teams to maintain their hopes of advancing past the group stage, and Koubek was asked if that makes him more nervous ahead of this game.
“Let me call it a healthy tension before a match,” he replied.
“Well, I’m not going to crumble under the pressure. Of course not, but of course I feel tension.
“We’re in the same situation as our opponent, we didn’t get a point after the first match. That’s a complication, but we have all our efforts on winning, on getting the points. We have a different opponent right now and of course we will adjust our strategy to this new opponent.”
Against South Korea, the Czechs played route-one football, and looked to exploit their height advantage on set-pieces, but Koubek remained coy on how his side would play this time around.
“We have tall players, but if we line up the taller players, well, we are not monsters in terms of height,” he said.
“We’ll see whether we keep the lineup the same in terms of height. Let’s be surprised.”
Source: Reuters
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