Czech Republic were in danger of losing their coach Michal Bilek after the match against Armenia. The coach said that he would have no other option but to offer his resignation if the Czech Republic were to lose the match. The team came into the crucial World Cup qualifying match against the Armenians on the back of the disappointing 3-0 defeat against Denmark. This has left the hopes of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in tatters. As a result of the defeat, Czech Republic are in the third position of the table. Only the teams finishing in the top two places will have a chance of qualifying.
Italy continue to lead the table after having dropped just two points from the five matches played so far. Bulgaria are realistically the main competitors for Czech Republic. After the 2-0 win against Almeria, Bilek was able to look ahead to the hugely important World Cup qualifying match against Italy in June. Czech Republic have had the fortune of having several world-class players like Pavel Nedvěd, Jan Koller, Tomáš Rosický, and Petr Cech over the years. However, Bilek has said that it is increasingly becoming difficult for the small nation to produce world-class players on a consistent basis.
“It’s true we’ve had several world stars in recent years. But in a small country like the Czech Republic, it’s not possible to constantly produce this type of player. It depends on many factors. But we already have some young players who can become future stars. The Czech national team has proved several times it can recover after failures. We’ve already dropped quite a few points in these qualifiers, but the situation can still be rectified,” said Bilek. Czech Republic made an appearance at the recent Euro 2012, but they were extremely poor in the competition.