New coach set to guide Czech Republic in tough group

The Czech Republic head into their 11th appearance at the EHF EURO – but with a new coach compared to recent events. After the team was ruled out of the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship in Egypt due to several Covid-19 cases, the federation split with co-coaches Daniel Kubes and Jan Filip.

However, their successor is well-known: Rastislav Trtik previously coached the Czech Republic at the EHF EURO 2004 and the 2005 IHF Men's World Championship.

In the crucial EHF EURO 2022 qualifiers, the Czech Republic beat Ukraine twice and finished second in group 3, below Russia. Now they face defending EHF EURO champions Spain, World Championship silver medallists Sweden, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bratislava.

Three questions ahead of the Men’s EHF EURO 2022:

Who will become the key figure for the Czech Republic?

After some years with few rising stars, the Czech Republic might have found their new Filip Jicha in left back Matej Klima, who shone in the November test matches against Austria. Right back Stanislav Kasparek plays a dominant role for his new club Meshkov Brest, while Tomas Mrkva, the new number one goalkeeper, has impressed enough at German club Bergischer HC that he will transfer to THW Kiel after this season.

But how Mrkva plays the role in the national team alone will be key. His long-term goalkeeping colleague Martin Galia will be the goalkeepers’ coach during the tournament after being ruled out through injury. Another player who could go from zero to hero is line player Vit Reichl.

Is experience the advantage?

Two experienced cornerstones of the Czech defence are not part of the EHF EURO 2022 playing squad: goalkeeper Martin Galia and defence boss Pavel Horak. But Trtik can still count on experienced players such as Roman Becvar, Tomas Babak, Tomas Cip, Jakub Hrstka and Štepán Zeman.

The problem could be their depth on the bench and the experience of the 'second row'. "We did not have that much time to prepare and to integrate the young players, so more or less I count on those players who are part of the team for many years," said Trtik.

Can the Czech Republic count on huge support?

With the Czech Republic's preliminary round matches being played in Slovakia, the team would relish the opportunity to play in front of a large number of travelling supporters.

"In Czech Republic, the fans have a huge interest to travel the short way to Bratislava to support our team, but we have to see the conditions under which the tournament will be played. To beat teams like Sweden or Spain, we need this eighth player in the stands," said Ondrej Zdrahala, President of the Czech Republic Handball Federation.

Under the spotlight: Stanislav Kasparek

The right back was the second-best scorer for the Czech Republic at the EHF EURO 2018 (33 goals) and the EHF EURO 2020 (29 goals). After an outstanding start to the season at club level for Meshkov Brest, where he is the team's second highest scorer in the EHF Champions League Men, Kasparek now carries the Czech Republic's hopes on his shoulders.

The classical shooter moved abroad at the age of 19 from his home club Zubry, when he transferred to Hungarian side Balatonfüred, and then joined Pick Szeged in 2018. Since the summer of 2021, Kasparek has played for Belarusian champions Meshkov Brest. Kasparek profits from his height and hammer shots.

Self-esteem

The Czech Republic are realistic about their prospects of causing an upset in group E. "We have some talented youngsters, but the backbone of our squad is built of experience. But we know that were drawn into a highly competitive group,” said coach Rastislav Trtik. 

Ondrej Zdrhala, the EHF EURO 2018 top scorer, hopes for a surprise against Sweden or Spain: "They are absolute world-class teams, but looking back on the EHF EURO 2020 shows that other top favourites such as Denmark or France were also eliminated in the first stage. I hope we can make everything happen."

Fun fact

The Czech Republic is the only nation in the history of the Men’s EHF EURO final tournaments with three top scorers. In 1998, Jan Filip was the number one scorer with 48 goals, while Filip Jicha was the top scorer (53 goals) and the MVP of the EHF EURO 2010 in Austria, and Ondrej Zdrahala netted 55 goals in Croatia to finish on top of the list in 2018.

What the numbers say

In 10 previous EHF EURO participations, the best result for the Czech Republic was sixth place, in 1996 and in 2018. Their weakest ranking position occurred in 2014, when they finished 15th after failing to win a match in the preliminary round. Since 2008, the Czech Republic have missed only one EHF EURO final tournament — the EHF EURO 2016 in Poland.

Past achievements

Men’s EHF EURO participations (including 2022): 11

Best result: sixth place (1996, 2018)