WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.419 You're listening to the FootGlish podcast. Love 00:00:03.419 --> 00:00:09.759 football, learn English. What were the main factors 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:12.759 behind Cechia's success in qualifying for the 00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:16.719 2026 World Cup? Who were the standout players? 00:00:17.179 --> 00:00:20.280 Why did Tomáš Soček lose the captain's armband? 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:23.760 And is Ladislav Krejci a better captain? And 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:26.879 what are some other ways to talk about qualifying 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:50.600 for the World Cup and being eliminated? So hello 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:54.219 everybody, the Footgrish podcast is back. The 00:00:54.219 --> 00:00:56.320 Footgrish podcast is a podcast about football 00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:00.780 and learning English. Yes, I'm Zdenek Lukas and 00:01:00.780 --> 00:01:04.260 I'm back. I've come back from the dead. I had 00:01:04.260 --> 00:01:07.239 to because the Czech Republic team have done 00:01:07.239 --> 00:01:14.609 it. We have qualified for 2026 World Cup. It's 00:01:14.609 --> 00:01:18.269 amazing. After two dramatic penalty shootouts 00:01:18.269 --> 00:01:22.750 against Ireland and Denmark, now we are going 00:01:22.750 --> 00:01:26.409 to Mexico. Well, probably not us, because I'm 00:01:26.409 --> 00:01:30.450 not alone here. I've got two Czech guests. So 00:01:30.450 --> 00:01:33.109 there are three Czech people here today talking 00:01:33.109 --> 00:01:37.209 about this fantastic... We are going to celebrate 00:01:37.209 --> 00:01:41.090 the occasion, just basically ramble about it 00:01:41.090 --> 00:01:44.870 in English. First of all, let me welcome my cousin 00:01:44.870 --> 00:01:49.069 Honza Popek, a passionate football fan, an economist 00:01:49.069 --> 00:01:53.109 and an amateur historian. Honza, welcome back 00:01:53.109 --> 00:01:58.170 to the podcast. Thanks very much. I'm looking 00:01:58.170 --> 00:02:02.969 for another episode of your podcast. Yeah, well, 00:02:03.010 --> 00:02:06.120 you're part of it now. So I'm glad you're looking 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:09.960 forward to it. And also we have David Nitsch, 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:14.020 my student, who is also a passionate football 00:02:14.020 --> 00:02:18.819 fan. He is working for OnePlaySport TV. I hope 00:02:18.819 --> 00:02:21.620 I'm saying it right. He's a reporter, commentator 00:02:21.620 --> 00:02:25.580 and presenter there. hi david welcome to the 00:02:25.580 --> 00:02:29.300 podcast hi guys good to see you i hope it won't 00:02:29.300 --> 00:02:31.759 be a shame for you because because of my english 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:34.620 and you're my english teacher so well there's 00:02:34.620 --> 00:02:36.740 a lot of pressure on you because yeah yeah i 00:02:36.740 --> 00:02:40.099 feel it i feel big pressure yeah yeah if your 00:02:40.099 --> 00:02:44.039 english is not up to scratch it's kind of on 00:02:44.039 --> 00:02:47.800 me isn't it it's my fault yeah of course yeah 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:51.939 i think the the person Under least amount of 00:02:51.939 --> 00:02:55.280 pressure here is Honza, probably. Yeah, you two 00:02:55.280 --> 00:02:58.439 are like a great connection between teacher and 00:02:58.439 --> 00:03:02.900 students. So yeah, both need to improve very 00:03:02.900 --> 00:03:08.800 well. But I think the idea is clear. Sorry, Honza? 00:03:08.939 --> 00:03:12.699 Both need to perform very well. Yeah, it's like 00:03:12.699 --> 00:03:16.729 football. We have to perform very well. The only 00:03:16.729 --> 00:03:18.870 thing is that we don't have a coach like Kovac, 00:03:19.050 --> 00:03:21.330 Miroslav Kovac, like the coach of the Czech national 00:03:21.330 --> 00:03:23.610 team. We have no one. It's just the three of 00:03:23.610 --> 00:03:28.189 us. So you are a coach. I'm a playing coach. 00:03:29.069 --> 00:03:31.729 I'm a playing coach. You know, like in the village. 00:03:32.750 --> 00:03:37.610 Yeah. I'm like one of those village coaches that 00:03:37.610 --> 00:03:43.090 is also a player. Okay. Well, let's talk about 00:03:43.090 --> 00:03:47.460 this then. you know what let me start like this 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:52.659 david how old were you when the czech republic 00:03:52.659 --> 00:03:57.039 was in the world cup last time which was in 20 00:03:57.039 --> 00:04:03.120 2006 i believe yeah so now i'm 33 so i was 13 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:08.659 years old yeah so but of course i remember last 00:04:08.659 --> 00:04:13.139 world cup Very well. Yeah, yeah. I remember it 00:04:13.139 --> 00:04:16.800 very well. And I lived for the World Cup. And 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:19.339 of course, I felt big disappointment after the 00:04:19.339 --> 00:04:22.879 tournament because I remember that we, or we, 00:04:22.980 --> 00:04:26.819 Czech players went there as big favorites. And 00:04:26.819 --> 00:04:31.060 I think they were on the second position in a 00:04:31.060 --> 00:04:34.839 FIFA ranking. So it was a big disappointment 00:04:34.839 --> 00:04:37.620 because they didn't qualify into the playoffs. 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:40.680 No, and our players were amazing at the time. 00:04:40.740 --> 00:04:43.300 Remember, we had just had this massive success 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:48.220 in the Euros 2004 where we got in the semi -final, 00:04:48.220 --> 00:04:50.939 but everyone was saying we were the best team 00:04:50.939 --> 00:04:54.019 of the tournament. Pavel Nedvěd, Tomáš Rosický, 00:04:54.100 --> 00:04:56.399 Jan Koller, Milan Maroc. And Czech team started 00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:59.060 in a very positive way because they beat USA 00:04:59.060 --> 00:05:05.529 3 -0, but Jan Koller got injured. in this game 00:05:05.529 --> 00:05:08.189 and it was big trouble for for czech team because 00:05:08.189 --> 00:05:12.709 he was his impact uh on the team was was huge 00:05:12.709 --> 00:05:15.269 so it was big problem for for karel brickner 00:05:15.269 --> 00:05:21.209 yeah and then the next game was against and because 00:05:21.209 --> 00:05:23.769 honza is an amateur historian i have to ask you 00:05:23.769 --> 00:05:28.610 sorry it's not about about it it's not the issues 00:05:28.610 --> 00:05:34.560 because uh the neck knows that uh we uh we we 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:38.680 are together there in it was in with ghana of 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:42.220 games it from from the beginning i think it seems 00:05:42.220 --> 00:05:45.860 promising it seemed to be promising but after 00:05:45.860 --> 00:05:50.319 second half it's was some kind of disasters let's 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:52.620 say not disaster yeah we lost two nil and it 00:05:52.620 --> 00:05:58.420 was a game yeah yeah you are right the second 00:05:58.420 --> 00:06:01.649 second half was like a i don't know I think that 00:06:01.649 --> 00:06:04.389 Ghana was much more better than Czech team and 00:06:04.389 --> 00:06:08.490 they played very well. Petr Cech had, I don't 00:06:08.490 --> 00:06:11.850 know, maybe five or six great saves. So it could 00:06:11.850 --> 00:06:16.449 be worse than 2 -0. Yeah, I think nobody expected 00:06:16.449 --> 00:06:19.810 that from us. Ghana, you know, we thought it 00:06:19.810 --> 00:06:22.930 would be a walk in the park, but it wasn't. And 00:06:22.930 --> 00:06:25.930 to be honest, it was a bit of a shock to us. 00:06:26.029 --> 00:06:28.660 We just thought... it would be a wonderful evening 00:06:28.660 --> 00:06:31.420 right but but we were there with honza that's 00:06:31.420 --> 00:06:33.860 why that's why i wanted to mention it it was 00:06:33.860 --> 00:06:36.420 the only time i've been to a major tournament 00:06:36.420 --> 00:06:39.420 it was the only time i watched a live game like 00:06:39.420 --> 00:06:45.220 that so right but now we are here to talk about 00:06:45.220 --> 00:06:49.939 this fresh success this amazing story of the 00:06:49.939 --> 00:06:53.040 czech republic finally making it after 20 years 00:06:53.660 --> 00:06:59.120 So now we are in the year 2026, right? And it's 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:01.660 quite fresh because several days ago, I think 00:07:01.660 --> 00:07:05.199 three days ago or something like that, we won 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:11.319 the final qualifier. It was absolutely the last 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:13.959 chance to get to the World Cup for us. And we 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:17.000 did it. And so we had to beat two teams. First, 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:20.560 Ireland. On penalties, we won on penalties. And 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:24.040 then a few days later, we repeated exactly the 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:30.240 same. The result was also the same. It was 2 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:33.379 -2 in extra time and then 3 -2 on penalties. 00:07:33.620 --> 00:07:38.439 And this time we beat Denmark, right? So did 00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:42.800 you see that coming, David? Did you expect this 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:46.839 to happen? No, because I think Denmark was a 00:07:46.839 --> 00:07:53.480 big favorite of this game. But of course, I can 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:58.160 see two sides of the coin. Because of course, 00:07:58.220 --> 00:08:03.160 after these two games, everybody can say something 00:08:03.160 --> 00:08:06.620 like, oh, but the way how we qualified into the 00:08:06.620 --> 00:08:11.220 World Cup was not so good. We played terrible. 00:08:12.910 --> 00:08:15.009 In the end of the day, I think the most important 00:08:15.009 --> 00:08:19.589 fact is that we did it. Czech team did it. And 00:08:19.589 --> 00:08:22.629 that's the most important fact. So, of course, 00:08:22.649 --> 00:08:25.029 we can speak about the style of playing football. 00:08:25.269 --> 00:08:27.949 We can speak about some mistakes. We can speak 00:08:27.949 --> 00:08:31.829 about terrible performance in the first half 00:08:31.829 --> 00:08:36.750 in a game against Ireland. But that doesn't matter. 00:08:36.909 --> 00:08:41.350 Because we are looking forward to the World Cup. 00:08:42.990 --> 00:08:47.370 But of course, I hope they will improve their 00:08:47.370 --> 00:08:54.470 skills and some style of football. And yeah, 00:08:54.570 --> 00:08:57.549 I'm really looking forward to the World Cup. 00:08:58.049 --> 00:09:01.309 Well, so am I. But I want to ask Honza. Honza, 00:09:01.350 --> 00:09:04.429 do you think it was a bit undeserved and we got 00:09:04.429 --> 00:09:09.370 lucky? Or how do you see it? I fully agree with 00:09:09.370 --> 00:09:13.039 David. It's like... History doesn't ask about 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:24.019 how, but ask about if or yes or no. We are there 00:09:24.019 --> 00:09:27.879 and I think it's good. I don't remember the player, 00:09:28.059 --> 00:09:32.539 but usually in Czech Republic, football doesn't 00:09:32.539 --> 00:09:38.720 have logic. Denmark is much more... Played very 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:47.059 well. His attackers had good chances and lots 00:09:47.059 --> 00:09:51.639 of pressure on Czech defenders. But they did 00:09:51.639 --> 00:09:55.580 it. Okay. It's all. But we are sort of talking 00:09:55.580 --> 00:10:00.759 about both games. But guys, I have one important 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:03.460 point. Because after a very, very, very long 00:10:03.460 --> 00:10:08.110 time, I felt... big passion from Czech people. 00:10:08.190 --> 00:10:14.809 Because I think Czech football has a strange 00:10:14.809 --> 00:10:20.389 sound last year. I think they were in a very 00:10:20.389 --> 00:10:24.330 bad position among people. But after a very long 00:10:24.330 --> 00:10:28.350 time, I felt... big happiness and by the way 00:10:28.350 --> 00:10:31.730 the second playoffs game uh against denmark i 00:10:31.730 --> 00:10:35.210 i spent this time in the pub because uh we organized 00:10:35.210 --> 00:10:38.610 a special football pub quiz and after the quiz 00:10:38.610 --> 00:10:41.169 we we were watching the game against denmark 00:10:41.169 --> 00:10:45.470 yeah and everybody everybody supported czech 00:10:45.470 --> 00:10:49.850 team everybody uh we were very allowed during 00:10:49.850 --> 00:10:53.509 the game and i felt this atmosphere around us 00:10:54.080 --> 00:10:56.620 And after a very long time, I'm really proud 00:10:56.620 --> 00:11:00.899 of Czech football and of the Czech national team. 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:03.200 I think this is the right word to use. I think 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:06.720 there is pride, national pride, which we don't 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:10.139 always associate with Czechia, the Czech Republic, 00:11:10.419 --> 00:11:12.759 Czech people, Honza, right? You as a historian, 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:15.620 you know, we struggle with this sometimes. We're 00:11:15.620 --> 00:11:19.320 not as patriotic as some of our neighbors, let's 00:11:19.320 --> 00:11:23.029 say. But moments like these are really necessary, 00:11:23.309 --> 00:11:26.690 right? For Czech football, but also Czech society. 00:11:26.970 --> 00:11:29.230 Would you agree, Honza? Yeah, I fully agree. 00:11:29.370 --> 00:11:34.730 It's a good opportunity to show that we are unified. 00:11:35.929 --> 00:11:40.809 Maybe there are some, how to say, quarrel about 00:11:40.809 --> 00:11:44.529 politics, quarrel about the situation in the 00:11:44.529 --> 00:11:47.929 world, but it's a good opportunity to unify it 00:11:47.929 --> 00:11:51.500 and then to support. czech team or another i 00:11:51.500 --> 00:11:53.779 don't know it's not about the football but another 00:11:53.779 --> 00:11:57.360 another sport activity so this this is a good 00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:00.799 idea a good opportunity to celebrate that yeah 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:03.600 and it doesn't happen every day 20 years we have 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:05.600 to wait for this for 20 years we we are quite 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:09.679 good at qualifying for the euros like we we consistently 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:12.440 make it there but when it comes to the world 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:16.960 cup it's not been the case and i think let's 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:20.340 be honest it's probably a much bigger tournament 00:12:20.340 --> 00:12:23.419 much bigger competition which with more reach 00:12:23.419 --> 00:12:28.580 and sort of reputation and everything and and 00:12:28.580 --> 00:12:31.200 it is not without problems i don't like infantino 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:34.379 i really don't and there are some a lot of controversies 00:12:34.379 --> 00:12:37.059 yeah but let's be honest some things are beyond 00:12:37.059 --> 00:12:41.379 that and it's just david is it how big is this 00:12:41.379 --> 00:12:44.379 for even sort of the future of czech football 00:12:44.379 --> 00:12:47.169 for the development for development of young 00:12:47.169 --> 00:12:49.830 players and stuff like that right of course i 00:12:49.830 --> 00:12:52.269 think that that's great opportunity for everybody 00:12:52.269 --> 00:12:55.850 from the team because you can show your quality 00:12:55.850 --> 00:13:00.029 you can show your skills uh in the highest level 00:13:00.029 --> 00:13:03.929 yeah and uh you can say something like hey look 00:13:03.929 --> 00:13:07.149 at me i i would i would like to play in in the 00:13:07.149 --> 00:13:10.549 best competition in the world yes so of course 00:13:10.549 --> 00:13:13.649 i think it has to be the biggest motivation for 00:13:13.649 --> 00:13:19.519 everybody in the team. So that's great. And by 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:22.399 the way, a few days ago, we were speaking about 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:26.299 Ladislav Krejci, by the way. So Wolverhampton 00:13:26.299 --> 00:13:29.379 is struggling in the Premier League. So I think 00:13:29.379 --> 00:13:36.190 that's another chance for Krejci to show... Something 00:13:36.190 --> 00:13:40.009 like, no, I don't want to play in the second 00:13:40.009 --> 00:13:43.429 league or in the second division because I don't 00:13:43.429 --> 00:13:48.590 deserve it. So it's not only about Krejci. Yeah, 00:13:48.610 --> 00:13:51.009 yeah, yeah. Well, he's the captain now. We will 00:13:51.009 --> 00:13:53.289 talk about the story for sure. But I still want 00:13:53.289 --> 00:13:56.070 to look at this from the global point of view. 00:13:56.169 --> 00:13:58.970 So Honza, I know you have very young kids, right? 00:13:59.149 --> 00:14:02.769 So is this something that can really sort of... 00:14:02.769 --> 00:14:08.769 Why are you laughing? Sorry, but one year old, 00:14:08.909 --> 00:14:13.970 he's not very keen on football. Not yet. Another 00:14:13.970 --> 00:14:18.370 issue, not yet. But I think it's a good opportunity 00:14:18.370 --> 00:14:21.289 to spread this. Yeah, but you have a daughter 00:14:21.289 --> 00:14:26.950 too, right? Yeah. So probably, well, probably 00:14:26.950 --> 00:14:31.120 they are too young, but okay. It was my segue. 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:34.039 I wanted to just ask this question. How important 00:14:34.039 --> 00:14:38.059 could this be for the kids? Because we always 00:14:38.059 --> 00:14:42.059 talk about this, how crucial it is to attract 00:14:42.059 --> 00:14:45.860 new people to the sport. And now with so many 00:14:45.860 --> 00:14:48.740 distractions they have in their lives, I know 00:14:48.740 --> 00:14:51.879 it. I am guilty of this sometimes myself. I play 00:14:51.879 --> 00:14:54.159 a lot of games and do a lot of different things. 00:14:55.769 --> 00:14:58.149 Young people, they don't do as much sport as 00:14:58.149 --> 00:15:00.450 we used to do when we were young these days. 00:15:00.509 --> 00:15:04.389 It's true. So how important could a moment like 00:15:04.389 --> 00:15:10.129 this be for the young generation? I think it's 00:15:10.129 --> 00:15:12.769 like some kind of critical point. We can compare 00:15:12.769 --> 00:15:19.330 with the ice hockey success in Olympic Games 00:15:19.330 --> 00:15:22.750 in Nagano. So lots of people, lots of kids are 00:15:22.750 --> 00:15:26.620 trying to. play ice hockey and I think it was 00:15:26.620 --> 00:15:31.440 good it was a good impact for Czech ice hockey 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:36.019 Czech sports and ice hockey is not so big so 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:40.399 big sports as football so I hope it will be positive 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:46.299 impact and let's say that Czech football receive 00:15:46.299 --> 00:15:52.500 some good points from it but reputation and like 00:15:52.500 --> 00:16:00.559 maybe impact for more members to try to be connected 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:09.679 with Czech football because on the other hand 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:12.539 last couple of days showed that there are lots 00:16:12.539 --> 00:16:17.159 of bad activities What is Honza talking about, 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:18.740 David? Do you want to tell us more? Because you 00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:20.779 are a reporter and I'm sure you have a lot of 00:16:20.779 --> 00:16:25.279 inside information. It's a great topic. It's 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:28.059 difficult to speak about it because it's not 00:16:28.059 --> 00:16:29.940 black and white. But of course, I think it's 00:16:29.940 --> 00:16:33.659 very important to have some idols. It's good 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:39.279 for children. And I have great memories of big 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:42.279 tournaments. And I remember it when I was... 00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:45.639 I don't know, 10 years old or 12 years old. I 00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:49.620 wanted to be a big football player. And I remember 00:16:49.620 --> 00:16:57.000 our very dramatic games next to our, or in the 00:16:57.000 --> 00:17:01.320 village. So I think it's a big opportunity to 00:17:01.320 --> 00:17:07.660 show big football players. And I can't say how 00:17:07.660 --> 00:17:12.240 big is the impact. Impact, what's the preposition? 00:17:12.380 --> 00:17:16.180 On? Oh, my God. You put me on the spot here. 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:20.500 What's the impact of this, I would say? On something. 00:17:20.680 --> 00:17:23.440 The impact of something on something. Absolutely. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:26.839 okay so i wanted to say i i don't know how big 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:30.740 is the impact on children yeah but of course 00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:35.240 it's uh uh much better to to see czech players 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:38.539 in in the tv and uh that's great that we have 00:17:38.539 --> 00:17:42.299 this opportunity to to see or watch this game 00:17:42.299 --> 00:17:46.839 in in in mexico yeah not not only that would 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:49.200 be amazing but basically this world cup is in 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:52.980 canada usa and mexico these countries are sharing 00:17:53.710 --> 00:17:58.609 uh this uh yeah they're hosting is going to play 00:17:58.609 --> 00:18:02.690 two games in mexico and one game in atlanta but 00:18:02.690 --> 00:18:04.930 our group is the mexican group you could say 00:18:04.930 --> 00:18:08.069 right we have we are in group a uh and our teams 00:18:08.069 --> 00:18:12.609 will be mexico south korea and south africa two 00:18:12.609 --> 00:18:16.230 south south south teams which is weird and they 00:18:16.230 --> 00:18:19.369 will and they will uh i don't know how can i 00:18:19.369 --> 00:18:24.920 say it but they are they are uh central i don't 00:18:24.920 --> 00:18:26.599 know how can i say because they will stay in 00:18:26.599 --> 00:18:29.980 dallas dallas will be there how can i say the 00:18:29.980 --> 00:18:32.660 camp like they will have their camp in dallas 00:18:32.660 --> 00:18:39.220 or something like that yeah but not i wouldn't 00:18:39.220 --> 00:18:42.019 use basement i would use the word base not basement 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:46.079 I hope they don't train in the basement. I think 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:52.880 it might be a bit depressing there. But their 00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:56.799 base, that's the word we are looking for. Yeah, 00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:00.519 okay. Well, let's talk about the main factors, 00:19:00.779 --> 00:19:04.339 right? What were the main factors behind this 00:19:04.339 --> 00:19:08.579 amazing achievement? Because it is huge for Czech 00:19:08.579 --> 00:19:11.500 football. Because we did not expect it, I think. 00:19:13.160 --> 00:19:17.740 Our football is on decline, I think, not on the 00:19:17.740 --> 00:19:20.799 rise, or has been in the last few years and decades. 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:24.480 We're not the same team. We don't have Pavel 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:26.920 Nedved, we don't have Tomáš Rosický, we don't 00:19:26.920 --> 00:19:29.039 have Karol Poborský. These players are gone, 00:19:29.180 --> 00:19:31.539 and we don't have the same level of talent. The 00:19:31.539 --> 00:19:34.500 only player possibly that is closest to it could 00:19:34.500 --> 00:19:37.119 be Patrik Šik, the only world -class player. 00:19:37.380 --> 00:19:41.220 So how did we do this? So my theory, right? is 00:19:41.220 --> 00:19:43.920 three l's yeah you tell me what you think okay 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:52.539 three l's um ladislav krejci letna and luck that's 00:19:52.539 --> 00:19:56.619 my theory so what is the ranking what can you 00:19:56.619 --> 00:19:59.480 what is the ranking i came up with this it's 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:01.700 my own idea i think yeah but ranking ranking 00:20:01.700 --> 00:20:06.470 i think uh you said ladislav first position i 00:20:06.470 --> 00:20:09.349 did not no no i did not mean it like that i i'm 00:20:09.349 --> 00:20:11.690 just saying it's on the same level yeah it's 00:20:11.690 --> 00:20:14.369 my theory it's my theory so i i just wonder if 00:20:14.369 --> 00:20:18.309 i'm thinking i'm thinking about other factors 00:20:18.309 --> 00:20:21.170 so of course we have to mention uh mr koubek 00:20:21.170 --> 00:20:24.650 new head coach of czech national team yeah uh 00:20:24.650 --> 00:20:30.650 maybe uh maybe the passion passion for football 00:20:30.650 --> 00:20:34.990 because uh yeah i was speaking about terrible 00:20:34.990 --> 00:20:38.349 performance from the game against ireland but 00:20:38.349 --> 00:20:43.829 despite of this performance i felt that they 00:20:43.829 --> 00:20:46.289 really was yeah and that they really want to 00:20:46.289 --> 00:20:51.009 qualify into the next round so uh yeah i think 00:20:51.009 --> 00:20:55.410 everybody wanted to win this game and i think 00:20:55.410 --> 00:20:58.230 that that's the way for for czech republic or 00:20:58.230 --> 00:21:01.509 for czech national team yeah and set pieces yeah 00:21:01.509 --> 00:21:06.750 because it's uh it's uh it's a czech czech players 00:21:06.750 --> 00:21:11.529 are experts for of of set pieces and it was very 00:21:11.529 --> 00:21:15.470 important factors for both games yeah right so 00:21:15.470 --> 00:21:19.170 corner corner kicks and throw -ins and uh free 00:21:19.170 --> 00:21:23.430 kicks and penalties and penalties yeah because 00:21:23.430 --> 00:21:26.670 we won on penalties twice honza when when when 00:21:26.670 --> 00:21:28.589 you were watching the penalties were you calm 00:21:28.589 --> 00:21:31.089 or a little bit stressed or how did you feel 00:21:31.089 --> 00:21:34.730 no i think it was like a little bit stressed 00:21:34.730 --> 00:21:39.410 but i think it's always a little bit only a little 00:21:39.410 --> 00:21:44.700 bit yeah because it's always uh how to say Players, 00:21:44.859 --> 00:21:48.740 he needs to concentrate, but he needs some kind 00:21:48.740 --> 00:21:53.440 of luck to be a lucky man, because without luck, 00:21:53.619 --> 00:22:00.019 you say, as we are talking about Denmark, I think 00:22:00.019 --> 00:22:04.900 generally Denmark was, if we focus on players, 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:10.039 they were better players. But what about Ireland? 00:22:10.119 --> 00:22:13.220 Because I think we actually played okay against 00:22:13.740 --> 00:22:15.839 Denmark, but we did not play very well against 00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:18.279 Ireland and the Irish players seemed like they 00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:20.819 were better players than us. What was happening 00:22:20.819 --> 00:22:25.329 there? For me, that game was more about luck 00:22:25.329 --> 00:22:28.230 than the Denmark game. Because I think we had 00:22:28.230 --> 00:22:31.630 a tactical plan which worked against Denmark, 00:22:31.809 --> 00:22:34.630 but not against Ireland. But I think there was 00:22:34.630 --> 00:22:37.049 a big difference in the position of the Czech 00:22:37.049 --> 00:22:39.710 team. Because before the game against Ireland, 00:22:39.970 --> 00:22:41.789 everybody would say something like, yeah, we 00:22:41.789 --> 00:22:44.670 are the favorite. And we have to be a better 00:22:44.670 --> 00:22:48.730 team and we have to beat them. And look at the 00:22:48.730 --> 00:22:52.369 situation before the second game. I think the 00:22:52.369 --> 00:22:58.849 mood was different. And maybe, or you know it, 00:22:58.950 --> 00:23:05.609 I think always it's better to be underdog. It's 00:23:05.609 --> 00:23:09.690 easier to be the underdog. It's easier to be 00:23:09.690 --> 00:23:14.200 the underdog than the top dog. And of course, 00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:18.119 we were totally shocked after the first 20 or 00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:22.539 25 minutes in a game against Ireland. Oh, yeah. 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:26.059 We didn't know what to do with them. And so, 00:23:26.059 --> 00:23:28.319 okay, so we're still talking about the factor. 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:31.160 So we mentioned luck. Honza definitely went for 00:23:31.160 --> 00:23:34.059 that. Wait, wait, wait, wait. So luck, I just 00:23:34.059 --> 00:23:36.279 want to say this is strange because Ireland, 00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:39.180 I think, one of the symbols of Ireland is the 00:23:39.180 --> 00:23:43.490 clover, you know? And that's like the symbol 00:23:43.490 --> 00:23:46.930 of luck. And leprechauns and all those kind of 00:23:46.930 --> 00:23:51.109 mythical creatures. And Ireland is just the country 00:23:51.109 --> 00:23:53.569 of luck. So what happened to them? Their luck 00:23:53.569 --> 00:23:57.109 has run out. They have had a lot of luck because 00:23:57.109 --> 00:24:02.069 of one bird. His name is Troy Parrot. And he's 00:24:02.069 --> 00:24:04.069 been wonderful for them. And he was great in 00:24:04.069 --> 00:24:05.990 that game as well. He scored a penalty. But then 00:24:05.990 --> 00:24:09.789 their luck has run out. We did it. Luck was on 00:24:09.789 --> 00:24:13.119 our side. That's for sure. So we mentioned luck. 00:24:13.420 --> 00:24:16.380 Letna. So I said Letna because it's the stadium 00:24:16.380 --> 00:24:20.259 where the final was played. And it's like a magical 00:24:20.259 --> 00:24:24.180 place, right? The commentators were saying it. 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:26.720 Ladislav Krejci said it, our captain. Because 00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:32.180 we had some success in the past on that stadium, 00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:35.599 right, as well. At that stadium, I should say. 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:42.369 Yes! Of course, you are right. But I think we 00:24:42.369 --> 00:24:48.150 have to mention goalkeeper Kovac because he was 00:24:48.150 --> 00:24:53.430 excellent during the penalties. I think we can 00:24:53.430 --> 00:24:59.450 find another factor. But of course, Kovac's performance 00:24:59.450 --> 00:25:04.549 was brilliant. He was the hero too. Absolutely. 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:11.319 He saved a lot of penalties and sometimes hypnotized 00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:15.740 the players who blasted the penalty into the 00:25:15.740 --> 00:25:22.099 11th row or somewhere up the sky. And how do 00:25:22.099 --> 00:25:29.250 we say Kovács in English on Zadino? It's a quiz 00:25:29.250 --> 00:25:32.130 question because I know especially David likes 00:25:32.130 --> 00:25:34.750 to organize quiz nights. I really don't know. 00:25:35.130 --> 00:25:38.150 I really don't know. Blacksmith. Yeah, blacksmith. 00:25:38.490 --> 00:25:41.789 Okay. Blacksmith. I tried butchers, but it's 00:25:41.789 --> 00:25:45.609 another. Butcher. Yeah. Butcher is different. 00:25:45.970 --> 00:25:49.950 That would be řeznik. Yeah, I know. And I'm thinking 00:25:49.950 --> 00:25:56.859 about another Czech players. Who? No, not Tomáš 00:25:56.859 --> 00:26:02.299 Illnes. How can I say Chory in English? I'm ill. 00:26:02.440 --> 00:26:07.559 So Tomáš ill or? Tomáš sick. Tomáš the sick. 00:26:07.980 --> 00:26:12.740 Tomáš the sick. Yeah, not everybody's name can 00:26:12.740 --> 00:26:17.819 be translated, to be honest. But it's fun to 00:26:17.819 --> 00:26:22.500 try to do that. And can I cheat? Taylor. Taylor? 00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:28.160 Vladislav Plejler. Okay. So this is another interesting 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:31.680 moment that happened, right? So we had a new 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:34.980 coach for these two games. Who is, by the way, 00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:41.799 how old, Honza? I'm 74, I think. 74 years old. 00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:46.180 And he's going to become the oldest coach in 00:26:46.180 --> 00:26:50.559 the World Cup's history. so that's gonna be crazy 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:53.819 but this this guy doesn't look like he's 74 at 00:26:53.819 --> 00:26:58.839 all he's very sharp he's witty he's funny in 00:26:58.839 --> 00:27:01.440 the press conference he yeah i love his reaction 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:03.819 at the press conference yeah he always makes 00:27:03.819 --> 00:27:06.599 sense when whenever he's speaking every single 00:27:06.599 --> 00:27:10.359 word he says it all makes sense he's not rambling 00:27:10.359 --> 00:27:16.579 at all he's great yeah i uh i had the chance 00:27:16.579 --> 00:27:22.000 to to meet him many times because of uh because 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:28.500 of uh his yeah because of his job and uh he he's 00:27:28.500 --> 00:27:31.339 different than other coaches yeah maybe it's 00:27:31.339 --> 00:27:34.420 about the age yeah but uh i felt big respect 00:27:34.420 --> 00:27:38.440 from him but uh i remember he was very funny 00:27:38.440 --> 00:27:41.680 after the game yeah after the post game interviews 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:46.789 and uh i heard he's he's very strict in a dressing 00:27:46.789 --> 00:27:51.789 room and it's important to have uh some another 00:27:51.789 --> 00:27:56.150 kind assistance yeah so i mean when you say kind 00:27:56.150 --> 00:27:59.740 you mean like softer not not as strict you mean 00:27:59.740 --> 00:28:02.380 yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah so i think it's it's 00:28:02.380 --> 00:28:05.079 very for him it's very important to have some 00:28:05.079 --> 00:28:08.700 kind assistance uh around him like like the idea 00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:12.799 of good cop good cop and bad cop yeah yeah yeah 00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:16.460 yeah yeah yeah but of course it's unbelievable 00:28:16.460 --> 00:28:21.259 and uh it's his biggest success and he's 74 years 00:28:21.259 --> 00:28:27.400 old yes so wow that's great and uh remember I 00:28:27.400 --> 00:28:30.519 don't know, three years ago before his coaching 00:28:30.519 --> 00:28:35.039 of Plzeň. I think nobody expected something like 00:28:35.039 --> 00:28:41.299 this. So now I'm just going to repeat to our 00:28:41.299 --> 00:28:45.059 listeners what happened, basically why Ladislav 00:28:45.059 --> 00:28:48.240 Krejci was the captain and I think probably will 00:28:48.240 --> 00:28:51.980 now be the main captain. in the future of the 00:28:51.980 --> 00:28:56.559 Czech Republic national team. And not Tomáš Soček. 00:28:56.700 --> 00:29:00.059 Because for five years, it was Tomáš Soček who 00:29:00.059 --> 00:29:04.839 was the captain. The biggest name, our main player 00:29:04.839 --> 00:29:06.700 in the Premier League, playing for West Ham. 00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:11.200 I think everybody knows Tomáš Soček. And then 00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:14.039 there was a moment in the qualification. We played 00:29:14.039 --> 00:29:17.099 against Faroe Islands. We lost 2 -1. And then 00:29:17.099 --> 00:29:19.140 a few days later, there was a friendly game. 00:29:19.660 --> 00:29:22.460 in Olomouc in the Czech Republic against Gibraltar 00:29:22.460 --> 00:29:24.779 of all teams. I don't know why we chose that 00:29:24.779 --> 00:29:28.500 team to play that team, but we won 1 -0. So two 00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:31.799 very poor results, a defeat against Faroe Islands 00:29:31.799 --> 00:29:34.299 in the qualification and a friendly game, which 00:29:34.299 --> 00:29:37.480 we won against Gibraltar 1 -0. After that, our 00:29:37.480 --> 00:29:41.940 coach was, we had an interim coach. He was sacked 00:29:41.940 --> 00:29:46.099 and something happened and the players decided 00:29:46.099 --> 00:29:50.000 not to thank the fans. after the game because 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:52.880 normally what you do is that all all players 00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:56.000 go up to the main stand and they will clap their 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:59.099 hands even whether it's a victory defeat or draw 00:29:59.099 --> 00:30:01.059 this was a victory okay terrible performance 00:30:01.059 --> 00:30:03.519 from the czech team but i think they thought 00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:06.779 that the fans hadn't supported them enough in 00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:10.710 the game or something like that and then Tomas 00:30:10.710 --> 00:30:13.289 Socek and Vladimir Zofal. So Tomas Socek, the 00:30:13.289 --> 00:30:16.710 captain, Vladimir Zofal, his main sort of teammate, 00:30:17.049 --> 00:30:19.849 who also used to play with him at West Ham. They 00:30:19.849 --> 00:30:24.809 went up to the crowd and instead of going to 00:30:24.809 --> 00:30:27.710 thank them, they had a kind of a discussion. 00:30:27.890 --> 00:30:30.930 They took a microphone and they were starting 00:30:30.930 --> 00:30:33.670 to explain why they didn't want to thank them 00:30:33.670 --> 00:30:35.789 or something like that. They said that they needed 00:30:35.789 --> 00:30:38.369 unity. There is no unity. They were basically 00:30:38.369 --> 00:30:41.509 criticizing the fans. And that was a big moment. 00:30:41.650 --> 00:30:43.650 And after that, I'm just going to finish the 00:30:43.650 --> 00:30:46.109 story and then let you talk, guys. After that, 00:30:46.329 --> 00:30:49.589 basically, there was a huge amount of criticism 00:30:49.589 --> 00:30:53.410 from the Czech media, from the fans. And it was 00:30:53.410 --> 00:30:56.509 all sort of leveled on the Czech team, but mainly 00:30:56.509 --> 00:30:58.690 on Tomáš Soček, because someone had to be held 00:30:58.690 --> 00:31:00.910 responsible, right? He went there, he was the 00:31:00.910 --> 00:31:04.430 captain. And then the decision was made to strip 00:31:04.430 --> 00:31:06.849 him of captaincy. So he would no longer be the 00:31:06.849 --> 00:31:10.839 captain. until further notice. So I want to ask 00:31:10.839 --> 00:31:15.940 Honza first. Honza, yeah. Is it... Okay, I like 00:31:15.940 --> 00:31:18.339 Tomáš Soček. You guys know it. I've been watching 00:31:18.339 --> 00:31:21.400 his games for a long time now. I love him. But 00:31:21.400 --> 00:31:25.140 is this a blessing in disguise? Is this a blessing 00:31:25.140 --> 00:31:27.539 that this happened? Because now Krejci looks 00:31:27.539 --> 00:31:30.619 like a better captain and he made it to the World 00:31:30.619 --> 00:31:32.940 Cup with the team. Is this a good thing that 00:31:32.940 --> 00:31:36.680 it all happened, Honza? so i think that the basic 00:31:36.680 --> 00:31:40.700 basic true or basic rules for each football players 00:31:40.700 --> 00:31:44.960 especially in england there is no reason and 00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:48.599 there is no way how to how to fight with with 00:31:48.599 --> 00:31:52.240 fans because lots of big bigger stars than so 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:56.440 check lost his position because they they wanted 00:31:56.440 --> 00:32:00.259 to fight with fans no way you mean not not physically 00:32:00.259 --> 00:32:03.400 but like physically but to be criticizing okay 00:32:03.400 --> 00:32:07.180 we we played we played well we played bad we 00:32:07.180 --> 00:32:10.339 we need to how to say say okay we played well 00:32:10.339 --> 00:32:16.940 but we are really uh we really thank you to to 00:32:19.609 --> 00:32:23.269 I think in England it's usual that they try to 00:32:23.269 --> 00:32:28.349 thank all fans despite its losing or its winning. 00:32:29.009 --> 00:32:31.809 It's basic rule for footballers, especially in 00:32:31.809 --> 00:32:37.029 England, never ever discuss with fans about performance. 00:32:37.369 --> 00:32:40.329 It looked like they were blaming the fans for 00:32:40.329 --> 00:32:44.849 the defeat. Maybe it's going to start in Czech 00:32:44.849 --> 00:32:50.529 Republic too. No chance to win four footballers 00:32:50.529 --> 00:32:57.190 against his fans. I don't know. So, David, Homsa 00:32:57.190 --> 00:32:59.450 did not really answer my question. I kind of 00:32:59.450 --> 00:33:02.369 did. But, David, was that a blessing? Was that 00:33:02.369 --> 00:33:04.009 the best thing that could happen to the national 00:33:04.009 --> 00:33:08.990 team? But now it sounds different than a few 00:33:08.990 --> 00:33:12.509 months ago, of course. Of course, a few months 00:33:12.509 --> 00:33:17.079 ago, it was embarrassing in all modes. and i 00:33:17.079 --> 00:33:21.039 didn't like it people were totally angry but 00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:24.160 i think that after the game the management of 00:33:24.160 --> 00:33:29.119 the czech team had to show people that they they 00:33:29.119 --> 00:33:33.240 wanted to change something yeah so they did it 00:33:33.240 --> 00:33:36.779 yeah they said no so czech uh won't be the captain 00:33:36.779 --> 00:33:43.789 yeah and so and of course uh Last week, we could 00:33:43.789 --> 00:33:49.849 see that they chose the best captain. And I can 00:33:49.849 --> 00:33:52.930 say the same like you. I'm a big fan of Tomáš 00:33:52.930 --> 00:33:59.069 Souček. And I love his journey from Žižkov to 00:33:59.069 --> 00:34:05.269 West Ham. But he's not captain. I think it's 00:34:05.269 --> 00:34:10.510 not in his nature. He was captain for five years, 00:34:10.590 --> 00:34:13.949 though. Yeah, it's a very long time. And he's 00:34:13.949 --> 00:34:17.889 a hero. I love him. But he's not the captain 00:34:17.889 --> 00:34:23.469 in his blood. And Ladislav Krejci is. Yeah, and 00:34:23.469 --> 00:34:27.010 Ladislav Krejci is. And look at the post -games 00:34:27.010 --> 00:34:30.530 interviews. Look at the body language. Look at 00:34:30.530 --> 00:34:36.110 the... I don't know. I think you can see it in 00:34:36.110 --> 00:34:40.170 a moment. When they started to speak. Yeah. Yeah. 00:34:40.650 --> 00:34:43.429 No, I think you're right. He sounds like he really 00:34:43.429 --> 00:34:46.389 knows what he's saying. Whereas Socek is a bit 00:34:46.389 --> 00:34:49.329 awkward. He doesn't know exactly how to say it. 00:34:49.369 --> 00:34:51.690 Again, he said something weird. There was an 00:34:51.690 --> 00:34:54.369 interview with him, right? And he was sort of... 00:34:54.780 --> 00:34:57.460 he was sort of he's i think he's holding a grudge 00:34:57.460 --> 00:34:59.519 he's not he's not happy about what happened he 00:34:59.519 --> 00:35:03.099 said i i accepted it but what was it that he 00:35:03.099 --> 00:35:06.320 said they can take they can take my armband but 00:35:06.320 --> 00:35:11.940 not my heart which sounded a bit strange to be 00:35:11.940 --> 00:35:14.219 honest with you and i know he was he was being 00:35:14.219 --> 00:35:17.820 honest honesty is very important right we like 00:35:17.820 --> 00:35:20.820 it about him he's honest but i think it's not 00:35:20.820 --> 00:35:24.300 what we wanted to hear we wanted They took my 00:35:24.300 --> 00:35:28.719 armband. I wasn't happy about it, but I accepted 00:35:28.719 --> 00:35:30.920 it and we move on and that's it. We forget about 00:35:30.920 --> 00:35:33.579 it. We play and we want to win. That's what you 00:35:33.579 --> 00:35:35.519 want to hear. You don't want to hear him say, 00:35:35.659 --> 00:35:38.400 hey, they took my armband. They can take my armband, 00:35:38.500 --> 00:35:40.840 but they will never take my heart. It sounds 00:35:40.840 --> 00:35:45.119 like I will never forget what they did to me. 00:35:45.519 --> 00:35:49.619 Yeah, no, but Zdeněk, I have no problem with 00:35:49.619 --> 00:35:54.780 this. announced not announcement with this speech 00:35:54.780 --> 00:36:00.019 yeah but uh i think it's a bit awkward yeah but 00:36:00.019 --> 00:36:04.099 okay whatever it's to my soul check so he's always 00:36:04.099 --> 00:36:06.460 he's always been like that and i i still respect 00:36:06.460 --> 00:36:10.260 him yeah and you know nobody's perfect right 00:36:10.260 --> 00:36:17.340 yeah so krejci definitely he was absolutely immense 00:36:17.340 --> 00:36:19.940 especially in that game against Ireland oh my 00:36:19.940 --> 00:36:23.719 God what a player he scored a goal in each of 00:36:23.719 --> 00:36:26.380 these two games what's his position Honza is 00:36:26.380 --> 00:36:32.699 he a striker he's a central defender isn't he 00:36:32.699 --> 00:36:36.760 so he's got a neck for go for a goal you know 00:36:36.760 --> 00:36:40.199 like how about I think it's general approach 00:36:40.199 --> 00:36:43.800 yet especially in in like a corners that all 00:36:43.800 --> 00:36:49.050 players which are like a capable to to to score 00:36:49.050 --> 00:36:54.030 are going to the it's it's to the box it doesn't 00:36:54.030 --> 00:36:57.590 matter if it is defenders or or striker or midfield 00:36:57.590 --> 00:37:02.889 midfielder so all have to be some kind of ability 00:37:02.889 --> 00:37:09.989 to to score or to be valuable in in in attack 00:37:09.989 --> 00:37:15.380 right Okay. What about Patrik Šik then? How good 00:37:15.380 --> 00:37:20.340 was he, David? Would you say he lived up to his 00:37:20.340 --> 00:37:24.420 reputation of the only Czech world -class player? 00:37:25.780 --> 00:37:30.599 I think he's an extra -skilled player. But I 00:37:30.599 --> 00:37:34.059 think it was very difficult for him in these 00:37:34.059 --> 00:37:37.280 two games. We were speaking about Krejci. I think 00:37:37.280 --> 00:37:40.940 these games were especially for him. But not 00:37:40.940 --> 00:37:43.739 for... patrick chic but of course i remember 00:37:43.739 --> 00:37:50.039 some moments when he when we when he showed his 00:37:50.039 --> 00:37:54.219 uh his great skills by the way i remember his 00:37:54.219 --> 00:37:58.059 penalty in a game against ireland and it was 00:37:58.059 --> 00:38:02.280 very very interesting because because he he stopped 00:38:02.280 --> 00:38:08.730 and he uh sorry he stuttered It's like the moment 00:38:08.730 --> 00:38:13.530 before you kick, you stutter. I wanted to speak 00:38:13.530 --> 00:38:17.929 about his seeing on the goalkeeper. After that, 00:38:18.010 --> 00:38:23.590 he checked the ball or he saw the ball. And after 00:38:23.590 --> 00:38:27.429 that, he kicked the ball. And yeah, it's wow. 00:38:28.329 --> 00:38:30.489 Not everyone can do that. It's a great skill 00:38:30.489 --> 00:38:32.690 to have. And he scored two penalties in that 00:38:32.690 --> 00:38:37.599 game against Ireland. And that's not easy to 00:38:37.599 --> 00:38:40.920 play two penalties or kick two penalties during 00:38:40.920 --> 00:38:45.260 the game. And I think the coach Koubek also said 00:38:45.260 --> 00:38:49.380 that he had never seen Patrik Schick fight like 00:38:49.380 --> 00:38:51.699 that. He was really running, pressing. Because 00:38:51.699 --> 00:38:55.139 sometimes he's associated with being a bit... 00:38:55.360 --> 00:38:57.619 I don't want to say lazy, but not always running 00:38:57.619 --> 00:39:00.360 as much as the other players, right? It's his 00:39:00.360 --> 00:39:02.739 little bit, let's say, weakness or something 00:39:02.739 --> 00:39:05.460 that he sometimes does. But in these two games, 00:39:05.659 --> 00:39:10.320 he really wanted this win like everyone else. 00:39:10.420 --> 00:39:12.219 And you could see he was a different animal. 00:39:13.739 --> 00:39:16.360 He's a different kind of player. I think you 00:39:16.360 --> 00:39:20.519 can't compare him with Tomáš Chorý. for example 00:39:20.519 --> 00:39:24.059 yeah well you can compare him in size maybe that's 00:39:24.059 --> 00:39:26.460 the only thing they're both quite tall yeah maybe 00:39:26.460 --> 00:39:31.039 yeah and uh okay another player we have to mention 00:39:31.039 --> 00:39:33.139 like we're not gonna go through the entire team 00:39:33.139 --> 00:39:35.179 i'm just mentioning some important names here 00:39:35.179 --> 00:39:39.199 so i want to know what what you honza think about 00:39:39.199 --> 00:39:44.360 pavel schultz who is the the new czech player 00:39:44.360 --> 00:39:46.699 of the year by the way if you didn't in case 00:39:46.699 --> 00:39:50.260 you didn't know not you honza but listeners because 00:39:50.260 --> 00:39:52.079 we i know we don't only have czech listeners 00:39:52.079 --> 00:39:55.000 here so pavel schultz is playing for olympic 00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:58.719 lyon in france and it's like the the new czech 00:39:58.719 --> 00:40:01.679 star basically came out of nowhere almost like 00:40:01.679 --> 00:40:03.619 he was great in the czech league but we did not 00:40:03.619 --> 00:40:06.199 expect him to do so well on the international 00:40:06.199 --> 00:40:10.579 stage and in in france in lyon a great team so 00:40:10.579 --> 00:40:13.630 honza how good was this player Yeah, so generally 00:40:13.630 --> 00:40:16.949 or definitely in a couple of months, great progress 00:40:16.949 --> 00:40:22.570 for Pavel Schulz. As in, like, how to say, club 00:40:22.570 --> 00:40:27.170 level, his club level in France, but also in 00:40:27.170 --> 00:40:33.230 the national team. So let's say that he, I think 00:40:33.230 --> 00:40:37.429 a couple of months, he went through some injured 00:40:37.429 --> 00:40:42.389 period. He was injured, yeah. yeah muscle muscle 00:40:42.389 --> 00:40:46.590 injury he's like again in in his i have to say 00:40:46.590 --> 00:40:52.110 level let's hope he he will he will like uh stay 00:40:52.110 --> 00:40:57.489 in the on his current level and good progress 00:40:57.489 --> 00:41:00.230 but i think i i would like to a little bit disagree 00:41:00.230 --> 00:41:03.869 with you i think uh he started playing very well 00:41:03.869 --> 00:41:07.409 in in in person like during something yeah yeah 00:41:07.409 --> 00:41:09.610 no no i did i did say that yeah yeah definitely 00:41:10.300 --> 00:41:13.420 But I think the world did not know about Pavel 00:41:13.420 --> 00:41:16.619 Schulz. Yeah, but I think in Czech Republic seems 00:41:16.619 --> 00:41:24.539 to be very promising players. That's right. Two, 00:41:24.679 --> 00:41:28.000 three years ago, so 22. I agree. I don't know 00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:35.739 how old is he, but let's say 23 years ago. Pavel 00:41:35.739 --> 00:41:41.739 Schulz is 20. I'm not sure, 24 years old? I think 00:41:41.739 --> 00:41:48.960 24, 25. Give me 10 seconds. No, definitely, Honza. 00:41:49.019 --> 00:41:51.659 But I wanted to ask you about his performance 00:41:51.659 --> 00:41:57.119 in these two games as well. 25. Okay, so I think, 00:41:57.219 --> 00:42:02.739 yeah, it's some kind of like maybe the best player 00:42:02.739 --> 00:42:07.909 in kind of like a... mid midfield or uh attack 00:42:07.909 --> 00:42:12.030 uh attack position so especially i i like i think 00:42:12.030 --> 00:42:15.369 it's it's it's popular it's like a how to say 00:42:15.369 --> 00:42:19.309 his path to uh provost in the i don't know 25 00:42:19.309 --> 00:42:21.789 minutes i don't know exactly what minutes what 00:42:21.789 --> 00:42:26.210 was but it was a kind of wonderful football smart 00:42:26.210 --> 00:42:29.639 smart intelligent play for him. And what about 00:42:29.639 --> 00:42:31.519 the goal? You didn't mention the goal. It was 00:42:31.519 --> 00:42:33.219 good, but it was some kind of... What do you 00:42:33.219 --> 00:42:35.460 mean it was good? It was a world -class finish. 00:42:35.519 --> 00:42:39.179 It was a screamer. They were showing the replays 00:42:39.179 --> 00:42:42.019 of this everywhere in the whole world, man. But 00:42:42.019 --> 00:42:45.139 you know, corners, there was some, how to say... 00:42:45.139 --> 00:42:49.500 Scramble. Scramble and something. Not prepared 00:42:49.500 --> 00:42:52.780 action, but the action with... If this action 00:42:52.780 --> 00:42:56.449 with Probod will be... score will be end with 00:42:56.449 --> 00:42:59.949 goal for me much more valuable than okay okay 00:42:59.949 --> 00:43:02.769 fair enough but but david the volley the volley 00:43:02.769 --> 00:43:07.150 come on yeah how sweetly did he hit that i think 00:43:07.150 --> 00:43:10.590 it's about his confidence yeah because uh yeah 00:43:10.590 --> 00:43:14.849 he's he's in a great form by the way i hope leon 00:43:14.849 --> 00:43:18.610 is not the final destination for him yeah but 00:43:18.610 --> 00:43:23.519 uh yeah i i think uh Three years ago, Pavel Schulz 00:43:23.519 --> 00:43:29.059 would not score this goal. And I think it's in 00:43:29.059 --> 00:43:32.800 his head because remember the difficult situation 00:43:32.800 --> 00:43:37.639 a few years ago because some fans were angry 00:43:37.639 --> 00:43:40.760 with him because he didn't score goals and he 00:43:40.760 --> 00:43:45.800 had great chances. And I think very important 00:43:45.800 --> 00:43:48.800 was his playing for Jablonec because he was on 00:43:48.800 --> 00:43:52.219 loan there. And I think it was the start of this 00:43:52.219 --> 00:43:58.280 improvement. And we have to mention that also 00:43:58.280 --> 00:44:01.460 his cat is very important for him. He has a cat. 00:44:01.679 --> 00:44:04.460 It's maybe the most popular cat in Czech Republic 00:44:04.460 --> 00:44:11.480 now. Female cat. But her name is Franta. Franta, 00:44:11.619 --> 00:44:16.719 yeah, which is a male name. Yeah, but... The 00:44:16.719 --> 00:44:20.949 cat is female. Cat is female, yeah. It's funny, 00:44:21.090 --> 00:44:24.690 it's funny. And did you see the post -game interview 00:44:24.690 --> 00:44:29.590 with Schulz? Because journalists asked him about 00:44:29.590 --> 00:44:34.309 Franta and they asked him something like, hey, 00:44:34.369 --> 00:44:39.630 what about Franta during the World Cup? And he 00:44:39.630 --> 00:44:44.099 said... I'm thinking about it so I hope Franta 00:44:44.099 --> 00:44:46.519 will be there too because all my family is going 00:44:46.519 --> 00:44:49.940 to Mexico I know I've seen that I've seen that 00:44:49.940 --> 00:44:52.980 so he's going to take his cat to Mexico probably 00:44:52.980 --> 00:45:00.039 let's hope so daily Franta okay great well as 00:45:00.039 --> 00:45:03.860 I said we are going to Mexico and our group is 00:45:03.860 --> 00:45:10.079 we're starting against South Korea then We have 00:45:10.079 --> 00:45:12.800 a match against South Africa and then finally 00:45:12.800 --> 00:45:15.000 against Mexico. So, Honza, how do you see our 00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:18.480 chances to progress from this group then, from 00:45:18.480 --> 00:45:21.280 Group A? I think we need to finish in top two 00:45:21.280 --> 00:45:24.900 and even the third place, there is a good chance 00:45:24.900 --> 00:45:26.699 we could make it from the third place as well. 00:45:27.019 --> 00:45:32.719 To be honest, I don't know much about South Africa. 00:45:34.010 --> 00:45:37.570 not not not maybe are you not are you not following 00:45:37.570 --> 00:45:39.989 are you not following african football honza 00:45:39.989 --> 00:45:44.190 no no no but i think if they if they promote 00:45:44.190 --> 00:45:48.150 it for uh world championship and i i think nigeria 00:45:48.150 --> 00:45:54.989 and the others so i think yeah it will be for 00:45:54.989 --> 00:45:59.030 me how to say big question mark and the same 00:45:59.030 --> 00:46:03.159 i am not uh very very important about south uh 00:46:03.159 --> 00:46:07.760 south korea to be honest but you know a lot about 00:46:07.760 --> 00:46:11.619 mexico i think right yeah mexico is for me maybe 00:46:11.619 --> 00:46:16.800 big big favorite of this group they play at home 00:46:16.800 --> 00:46:21.300 and of course lots of players which with some 00:46:21.300 --> 00:46:27.239 experience from europe and of course but uh south 00:46:27.239 --> 00:46:31.500 africa south korea big question mark to be honest 00:46:31.949 --> 00:46:41.190 Right now, I am not able to name any famous South 00:46:41.190 --> 00:46:44.389 Korean players. Son? How about Son? Yeah, but 00:46:44.389 --> 00:46:50.550 he played in the US. I think in Dallas or somewhere. 00:46:51.670 --> 00:46:55.090 I don't know about his current form, current 00:46:55.090 --> 00:47:01.110 position. No, no, sorry. I think it's very tricky. 00:47:01.659 --> 00:47:05.179 yeah because we don't know these teams yeah so 00:47:05.179 --> 00:47:08.360 maybe somebody would say something like south 00:47:08.360 --> 00:47:13.460 korea wow no problem but uh wow guys i think 00:47:13.460 --> 00:47:18.679 uh it's uh it it's gonna be very difficult yeah 00:47:18.679 --> 00:47:22.239 so because it's yeah because it's different because 00:47:22.239 --> 00:47:26.239 uh it's uh it's easy to say okay so it's gonna 00:47:26.239 --> 00:47:28.460 be fine because we we don't know these teams 00:47:28.460 --> 00:47:32.840 yeah yeah so But if you look at the transfer 00:47:32.840 --> 00:47:37.000 market, we have the most valuable team of all 00:47:37.000 --> 00:47:38.760 those four teams. So we should be the favorites. 00:47:39.800 --> 00:47:45.900 Yeah, but you know, home player for Mexico, South 00:47:45.900 --> 00:47:49.619 Korea, I think lots of Korean players are in 00:47:49.619 --> 00:47:56.059 Bundesliga. So quite a good league. And South 00:47:56.059 --> 00:47:59.969 Africa. We don't know about the weather in Mexico. 00:48:00.269 --> 00:48:07.070 So 30, 38, 30, 40 degrees. Lots of Czech players 00:48:07.070 --> 00:48:10.590 are not very familiar with this weather. South 00:48:10.590 --> 00:48:16.329 African. By the way, what's the first thing what 00:48:16.329 --> 00:48:21.690 you imagine when I say South Africa and football? 00:48:22.550 --> 00:48:24.710 Well, obviously, there was a World Cup in South 00:48:24.710 --> 00:48:31.889 Africa, right? Yeah, maybe you will see Bouzellas 00:48:31.889 --> 00:48:35.050 again. Yeah, there were like these trumpets that 00:48:35.050 --> 00:48:37.250 people could buy and everybody bought that one. 00:48:37.349 --> 00:48:41.449 It was like made from paper or something? I really 00:48:41.449 --> 00:48:45.050 don't know. I think it's plastic. Okay, something 00:48:45.050 --> 00:48:48.690 cheap and simple that everybody bought and that 00:48:48.690 --> 00:48:52.420 they made. huge noise in the stadiums in South 00:48:52.420 --> 00:48:55.219 Africa during this World Cup. I can't remember 00:48:55.219 --> 00:49:02.679 when it was. Was it 2012 or 2010? 2010. To be 00:49:02.679 --> 00:49:13.019 honest, I still like Shakira's anthem. And Spain 00:49:13.019 --> 00:49:17.389 won this tournament. That's right. And Slovakia 00:49:17.389 --> 00:49:20.090 did very well. Yeah, and Slovakia beat Italy, 00:49:20.289 --> 00:49:23.789 I think. Italy. Oh, my God. Honestly, if you 00:49:23.789 --> 00:49:27.030 have any Italian viewers and listeners, I am 00:49:27.030 --> 00:49:30.489 really sorry, guys. Your team is cursed right 00:49:30.489 --> 00:49:33.590 now. Three times in a row, they are missing out 00:49:33.590 --> 00:49:35.670 on the World Cup. This time, they got beaten 00:49:35.670 --> 00:49:40.150 on penalties by Bosnia. What a huge surprise 00:49:40.150 --> 00:49:45.010 that is. But I think in this case, it's like, 00:49:45.090 --> 00:49:49.070 how to say, an example that not only a group 00:49:49.070 --> 00:49:55.250 of big stars are a good team, and Bosnia played 00:49:55.250 --> 00:49:59.170 like, how to say? Like a team. Like a team. With 00:49:59.170 --> 00:50:01.829 Edin Dzeko, their captain, is an amazing player. 00:50:02.070 --> 00:50:04.449 And Amar Memic played for Bosnia. Amar Memic, 00:50:04.449 --> 00:50:09.539 yeah, from Plzen. From Plzen, yeah. And Edin 00:50:09.539 --> 00:50:11.800 Dzeko, the captain, of course, he used to play 00:50:11.800 --> 00:50:17.619 for Teplice when he was young. So stars don't 00:50:17.619 --> 00:50:22.199 make a team. That's true. And this is our only 00:50:22.199 --> 00:50:25.800 hope. We will have to park the bus probably and 00:50:25.800 --> 00:50:30.139 play horrible defensive style. What side are 00:50:30.139 --> 00:50:32.679 you on, guys? Are you on the side of success 00:50:32.679 --> 00:50:37.920 or good display or just something nice for the 00:50:37.920 --> 00:50:40.920 fans? What would you rather do? Play attractive 00:50:40.920 --> 00:50:44.679 football? Something that the fans could admire? 00:50:44.940 --> 00:50:49.360 That maybe even neutral fans? Because a lot of 00:50:49.360 --> 00:50:50.800 people are going to watch our game. They're not 00:50:50.800 --> 00:50:56.000 even Czech, right? I'm on success side, of course. 00:50:56.320 --> 00:50:58.800 So it doesn't matter how we do it. We just need 00:50:58.800 --> 00:51:00.619 to win the World Cup, no matter what. Sorry, 00:51:00.619 --> 00:51:04.539 I lost you for two seconds. Sorry. Yeah, it wasn't 00:51:04.539 --> 00:51:08.059 very realistic anyway. I was saying that... We 00:51:08.059 --> 00:51:10.900 just need to win the World Cup, no matter how. 00:51:11.519 --> 00:51:15.199 And it might not be pretty. We might be defending 00:51:15.199 --> 00:51:19.519 24 -7, 20 % of possession, like similarly to 00:51:19.519 --> 00:51:23.920 the game against Denmark. And then most likely 00:51:23.920 --> 00:51:26.199 in the knockout stages, just win on penalties 00:51:26.199 --> 00:51:29.199 because we are good at winning on penalties. 00:51:29.260 --> 00:51:36.659 We have never lost. Yeah. Part of the game, let's 00:51:36.659 --> 00:51:41.400 say. Czech national team has some experience 00:51:41.400 --> 00:51:46.599 with quite attractive playing styles in some 00:51:46.599 --> 00:51:50.539 kind of European championship, but they lost 00:51:50.539 --> 00:51:54.860 with Greece. Greece played, how to say, horrible, 00:51:55.019 --> 00:51:58.159 horrible. And then they won it. And then they 00:51:58.159 --> 00:52:00.920 won the Euros in the end. But they played, how 00:52:00.920 --> 00:52:05.309 to say, only defense, I think. yeah physically 00:52:05.309 --> 00:52:08.710 ugly football and then nobody's asked history 00:52:08.710 --> 00:52:11.550 doesn't ask as long as you win so do you think 00:52:11.550 --> 00:52:13.289 we have a chance to win the tournament david 00:52:13.289 --> 00:52:15.670 would you put your money on it no we have no 00:52:15.670 --> 00:52:19.110 chance to win the tournament what do you mean 00:52:19.110 --> 00:52:24.849 there is always a chance i would like to be satisfied 00:52:24.849 --> 00:52:28.349 if we promote for the next next next level yeah 00:52:28.349 --> 00:52:30.710 so you mean you want to get qualified if we qualify 00:52:30.710 --> 00:52:34.619 from our group yeah we have to be realistic yeah 00:52:34.619 --> 00:52:37.300 so of course i think uh that there's the main 00:52:37.300 --> 00:52:40.920 goal to qualify into the playoffs yeah and after 00:52:40.920 --> 00:52:45.800 that i i will be totally happy yeah so if we 00:52:45.800 --> 00:52:48.300 get if we get knocked out i will be devastated 00:52:48.300 --> 00:52:50.480 i will be devastated that's the difference between 00:52:50.480 --> 00:52:55.440 you and me i want to win everything of course 00:52:55.440 --> 00:52:58.780 i would like to see big success too of course 00:52:58.780 --> 00:53:04.190 but uh it's it's gonna be Very difficult. But 00:53:04.190 --> 00:53:08.909 we have Kovac. We have Factor X. Mr. Kovac, the 00:53:08.909 --> 00:53:13.230 oldest coach. He's the lucky coach as well. He's 00:53:13.230 --> 00:53:15.130 winning. He doesn't even know how sometimes. 00:53:15.730 --> 00:53:19.670 Okay, so maybe we will win the tournament thanks 00:53:19.670 --> 00:53:24.460 to Kovac. Yeah, I mean... somebody has to say 00:53:24.460 --> 00:53:26.739 it like i'm sure the other podcasts are not predicting 00:53:26.739 --> 00:53:29.099 us winning the tournament maybe we will be the 00:53:29.099 --> 00:53:31.380 only podcast here that can actually say it here 00:53:31.380 --> 00:53:36.519 that we are gonna win in in that tournament onza 00:53:36.519 --> 00:53:40.219 percentage what percentage would you give it 00:53:40.219 --> 00:53:47.380 that we can we can do this i don't know let's 00:53:47.380 --> 00:53:50.380 hope i i i hope that there will be some some 00:53:50.380 --> 00:53:55.820 success so 20%. 20 %? We win the tournament? 00:53:55.920 --> 00:54:01.320 I think that's not going to happen. Yeah, I know, 00:54:01.400 --> 00:54:05.460 but there will be some, how to say, some wish, 00:54:05.699 --> 00:54:08.239 some top secret wish and something like this. 00:54:08.940 --> 00:54:10.739 Well, let's hope, because we are not very good 00:54:10.739 --> 00:54:15.659 at top secrets in this new management, because 00:54:15.659 --> 00:54:20.420 every single starting lineup got leaked. Three 00:54:20.420 --> 00:54:27.539 days before the game. We don't know how, right? 00:54:27.599 --> 00:54:30.039 Why somebody is leaking the starting lineup three 00:54:30.039 --> 00:54:36.099 days before? But Zdeněk, I think it was the same 00:54:36.099 --> 00:54:39.019 in Denmark, I think. And I think it's almost 00:54:39.019 --> 00:54:43.119 impossible to keep this secret until the game. 00:54:43.920 --> 00:54:51.539 You know it. Players... players from the team 00:54:51.539 --> 00:54:56.760 have some families yeah so before the game sorry 00:54:56.760 --> 00:55:03.659 and so i think it's almost all to keep it only 00:55:03.659 --> 00:55:08.340 in the team yeah so yeah and so you don't blame 00:55:08.340 --> 00:55:10.679 them and it's okay you think it's okay maybe 00:55:10.679 --> 00:55:14.900 it's our secret weapon guys but i think it's 00:55:14.900 --> 00:55:18.059 it's definitely modern modern uh world because 00:55:18.059 --> 00:55:21.039 journalists have many opportunity many connection 00:55:21.039 --> 00:55:25.059 david is a journalist so he is a journalist he 00:55:25.059 --> 00:55:28.039 knows he knows something from the team so okay 00:55:28.039 --> 00:55:31.280 and he has a good good connection with somebody 00:55:31.280 --> 00:55:35.360 so i think it's it's it's normally it's normally 00:55:35.360 --> 00:55:43.559 in germany or in portuguese england So there's 00:55:43.559 --> 00:55:46.019 this leakage because journalists are journalists 00:55:46.019 --> 00:55:51.280 and it's their work to investigate it in these 00:55:51.280 --> 00:55:55.400 cases. All right, guys, I think we can leave 00:55:55.400 --> 00:55:57.639 it there for today. Thank you very much for joining 00:55:57.639 --> 00:56:00.980 me and doing this podcast. I hope our listeners 00:56:00.980 --> 00:56:03.860 and viewers liked it. Let us know. Leave a comment. 00:56:04.360 --> 00:56:07.059 Maybe you can even ask. questions more questions 00:56:07.059 --> 00:56:10.119 and we will do our best to answer them in the 00:56:10.119 --> 00:56:14.659 comments and uh yeah great thank you very much 00:56:14.659 --> 00:56:18.679 take care thank you very much take care bye guys 00:56:18.679 --> 00:56:39.400 bye honza have a good one welcome back to the 00:56:39.400 --> 00:56:42.360 language corner as always in this part of the 00:56:42.360 --> 00:56:45.139 video i would like to teach you something because 00:56:45.139 --> 00:56:48.619 you see i'm an english teacher so i have to kind 00:56:48.619 --> 00:56:52.679 of live up to my job i have to do my job here 00:56:52.679 --> 00:56:55.760 right and today i would like to take a look at 00:56:55.760 --> 00:56:59.099 some expressions phrases and idioms you can use 00:56:59.099 --> 00:57:02.079 for talking about qualifying for the world cup 00:57:02.079 --> 00:57:06.559 as well as getting eliminated but before i dive 00:57:06.559 --> 00:57:10.039 into it I would like to thank my guests today, 00:57:10.239 --> 00:57:13.480 who were none other than my cousin Honza Popek, 00:57:13.599 --> 00:57:17.460 as well as my student David Nitsch. Speaking 00:57:17.460 --> 00:57:21.360 of David, he has a podcast himself, but it's 00:57:21.360 --> 00:57:24.760 in Czech. So if you would like to check it out, 00:57:24.880 --> 00:57:29.800 pun intended, then head over to the internet 00:57:29.800 --> 00:57:35.480 and type in druhý zdeněk, no, not druhý zdeněk, 00:57:35.500 --> 00:57:39.869 druhý dotek. Zdeněk Folprecht. He does it with 00:57:39.869 --> 00:57:42.889 his friend Zdeněk Folprecht, an ex -footballer, 00:57:42.909 --> 00:57:46.010 and I think it's a great podcast, but you have 00:57:46.010 --> 00:57:48.849 to speak Czech to be able to enjoy it because 00:57:48.849 --> 00:57:51.829 it is in Czech. Otherwise, I suppose you could 00:57:51.829 --> 00:57:57.610 use some kind of AI tool and get subtitles at 00:57:57.610 --> 00:58:00.690 least or something, and then perhaps you could 00:58:00.690 --> 00:58:07.449 enjoy it in this kind of way. Either way, we 00:58:07.449 --> 00:58:10.389 are here to talk about vocabulary, right? That's 00:58:10.389 --> 00:58:13.869 what I promised to you. And I have collected 00:58:13.869 --> 00:58:17.329 a few interesting expressions, so let's get started. 00:58:18.090 --> 00:58:21.070 You can say, we have made it to the World Cup. 00:58:21.110 --> 00:58:23.670 It's kind of the simplest way to say it, to be 00:58:23.670 --> 00:58:25.449 honest with you. It's the most common way to 00:58:25.449 --> 00:58:28.110 say it. We have made it. If you make it, it means 00:58:28.110 --> 00:58:31.590 you succeed, right? You succeed in qualifying. 00:58:31.690 --> 00:58:35.719 You qualify for the World Cup. By the way, You 00:58:35.719 --> 00:58:39.460 qualify for something. I often hear from my students 00:58:39.460 --> 00:58:43.920 to qualify to something, but we don't say that. 00:58:43.940 --> 00:58:47.340 We say to qualify for something. You qualify 00:58:47.340 --> 00:58:51.500 for the World Cup. You're going to Mexico. You're 00:58:51.500 --> 00:58:54.400 going to play in the World Cup. You can say that, 00:58:54.539 --> 00:58:59.079 but you're qualifying for the World Cup. Okay, 00:58:59.219 --> 00:59:03.920 that's that. You can say we are World Cup bound. 00:59:05.699 --> 00:59:08.219 It's an interesting word. If you are World Cup 00:59:08.219 --> 00:59:11.320 bound, it means you're heading. You're heading 00:59:11.320 --> 00:59:13.460 in the direction of the World Cup, basically. 00:59:13.679 --> 00:59:17.559 I remember when I used to live in London, they 00:59:17.559 --> 00:59:21.820 always had two platforms. When you sort of went 00:59:21.820 --> 00:59:24.900 down the escalator, you could see on the left 00:59:24.900 --> 00:59:28.880 side, the platform on the left was southbound, 00:59:29.039 --> 00:59:31.960 for example, and the platform on the right was 00:59:31.960 --> 00:59:36.409 northbound, meaning... you know, the tube was 00:59:36.409 --> 00:59:40.590 going up north, right? Does it make sense? Basically, 00:59:40.710 --> 00:59:43.670 it's in the direction of, right? So we are World 00:59:43.670 --> 00:59:47.750 Cup bound means we are heading to the World Cup 00:59:47.750 --> 00:59:52.050 or something like that. Okay, you can say we 00:59:52.050 --> 00:59:55.269 are off to the World Cup. If you're off to a 00:59:55.269 --> 00:59:59.250 place, it means, again, you're heading to a place. 00:59:59.429 --> 01:00:02.489 You can say I'm off to work, yeah? I'm off to 01:00:02.489 --> 01:00:06.119 school. That's also very common. Another great 01:00:06.119 --> 01:00:09.179 phrase would be Bosnia. I'm going to use Bosnia 01:00:09.179 --> 01:00:12.019 as an example here. I'm sorry to my Italian viewers 01:00:12.019 --> 01:00:16.659 and listeners. My idea is not to rub it in here. 01:00:16.840 --> 01:00:20.199 I'm genuinely sorry because you've missed out 01:00:20.199 --> 01:00:23.840 on the World Cup three times in a row now, which 01:00:23.840 --> 01:00:26.900 is shocking, to be honest with you. Italy not 01:00:26.900 --> 01:00:28.900 being in the World Cup, I think it's not good. 01:00:29.119 --> 01:00:32.719 It's not good for football. So Bosnia have booked 01:00:32.719 --> 01:00:35.639 their place at the World Cup. If you book your 01:00:35.639 --> 01:00:41.079 place, it means you basically secure that position, 01:00:41.280 --> 01:00:43.460 right? You manage to get there. You book your 01:00:43.460 --> 01:00:47.420 place. Like when you're booking a plane ticket 01:00:47.420 --> 01:00:51.219 online or something. Right, then there is another 01:00:51.219 --> 01:00:54.619 one. To be through to the World Cup. You can 01:00:54.619 --> 01:00:57.230 say Sweden are through to the World Cup. I haven't 01:00:57.230 --> 01:00:59.469 really spoken about Sweden in this podcast, but 01:00:59.469 --> 01:01:02.469 it's an amazing story as well, isn't it? In their 01:01:02.469 --> 01:01:05.449 qualification group, they only managed to collect 01:01:05.449 --> 01:01:09.429 two points. Can you imagine? Two points. But 01:01:09.429 --> 01:01:11.809 they still qualified because there is another 01:01:11.809 --> 01:01:15.630 route to the World Cup via Nations League. And 01:01:15.630 --> 01:01:18.730 that's where they did really well. I think they 01:01:18.730 --> 01:01:21.949 won their Group C or something and then obviously 01:01:21.949 --> 01:01:26.050 won their two qualifiers against... One was against... 01:01:26.429 --> 01:01:28.869 I can't remember anymore. I know the final was 01:01:28.869 --> 01:01:31.449 against Poland. Who did they beat before that? 01:01:32.369 --> 01:01:35.989 Someone else, okay? I apologize for that. I cannot 01:01:35.989 --> 01:01:39.429 actually remember. Anyway, as I said before, 01:01:39.510 --> 01:01:42.489 you can say Czechia have done the job. They are 01:01:42.489 --> 01:01:45.869 heading to the World Cup. If you head to the 01:01:45.869 --> 01:01:48.789 World Cup, it means you're going there in the 01:01:48.789 --> 01:01:52.090 direction of, you know, you're going there. You're 01:01:52.090 --> 01:01:54.980 heading. You can head to... I don't know. You 01:01:54.980 --> 01:01:57.000 can hatch to the USA, meaning you are on your 01:01:57.000 --> 01:02:02.119 way to the USA, sort of, right? Right. Yeah, 01:02:02.280 --> 01:02:05.239 that's pretty much it. Now, talking about elimination. 01:02:05.820 --> 01:02:09.619 So, you know, you can say heartbreak for Denmark, 01:02:09.679 --> 01:02:12.179 which is kind of a newspaper headline, to be 01:02:12.179 --> 01:02:14.900 honest with you. If something is a heartbreak 01:02:14.900 --> 01:02:17.139 for you, it breaks your heart, right? When you 01:02:17.139 --> 01:02:22.260 break up with someone or when your girlfriend 01:02:22.260 --> 01:02:26.550 dumps you boyfriend, what's another way of saying 01:02:26.550 --> 01:02:29.289 this, breaks up with you, then it's a heartbreak 01:02:29.289 --> 01:02:33.030 for you. It breaks your heart. So if your World 01:02:33.030 --> 01:02:37.090 Cup dream is over, like for Denmark, it's a heartbreak 01:02:37.090 --> 01:02:40.190 for them. Another way of saying it is they bottled 01:02:40.190 --> 01:02:43.570 it. And I've recently done this on my social 01:02:43.570 --> 01:02:46.110 media, on Instagram and here on my YouTube channel 01:02:46.110 --> 01:02:51.199 as well. as real, right? You know, I record these 01:02:51.199 --> 01:02:54.039 AI -generated videos these days where I explain 01:02:54.039 --> 01:02:56.320 vocabulary, and one of them was to bottle it. 01:02:56.800 --> 01:03:00.639 If you bottle it, it means you fail to qualify, 01:03:00.860 --> 01:03:04.579 you fail to succeed, basically, especially when 01:03:04.579 --> 01:03:07.360 you're close to it. And Denmark were pretty close, 01:03:07.500 --> 01:03:09.760 right? They were in the final, they managed to 01:03:09.760 --> 01:03:11.639 equalize against us, they played better than 01:03:11.639 --> 01:03:15.619 us, they had good footballers. A lot of possession 01:03:15.619 --> 01:03:18.699 in the game, a lot of ability on their side, 01:03:18.860 --> 01:03:21.159 but they didn't do it. They bottled it, just 01:03:21.159 --> 01:03:23.199 like Ireland bottled it, who, in my opinion, 01:03:23.239 --> 01:03:26.960 were much better than Denmark even. But we're 01:03:26.960 --> 01:03:31.599 there. We didn't bottle it. Another one could 01:03:31.599 --> 01:03:35.000 be they let it slip. It's like they let it slip 01:03:35.000 --> 01:03:38.619 through their fingers. If you let something slip, 01:03:38.800 --> 01:03:41.360 if you let it slip, it means you miss the chance, 01:03:41.420 --> 01:03:44.550 really. You miss the opportunity. You let it 01:03:44.550 --> 01:03:51.769 go, you let it slip. All right, what else do 01:03:51.769 --> 01:03:55.349 we have here? Another one is to come up short. 01:03:55.530 --> 01:03:59.070 For example, Poland have come up short. Unfortunately 01:03:59.070 --> 01:04:03.789 for Robert Lewandowski, who announced his retirement, 01:04:04.110 --> 01:04:08.969 you know, the biggest star of the last one or 01:04:08.969 --> 01:04:12.630 perhaps two decades. A Polish megastar, Robert 01:04:12.630 --> 01:04:15.869 Lewandowski, unfortunately is not going to play 01:04:15.869 --> 01:04:19.510 at the World Cup. Poland have come up short against 01:04:19.510 --> 01:04:23.130 Sweden. They lost. And to come up short, it's 01:04:23.130 --> 01:04:26.030 like an understatement, really. It's basically 01:04:26.030 --> 01:04:30.090 like a disappointing statement. When you come 01:04:30.090 --> 01:04:35.349 up short, you just fail to succeed, really. Of 01:04:35.349 --> 01:04:38.150 course, I said that you can say to be eliminated, 01:04:38.230 --> 01:04:43.469 to get eliminated. to get knocked out when it's 01:04:43.469 --> 01:04:46.250 a cup sort of cup competition right you get knocked 01:04:46.250 --> 01:04:50.050 out which this kind of was in the end it was 01:04:50.050 --> 01:04:53.530 a knockout stage you could say right and by the 01:04:53.530 --> 01:04:55.650 way when we talk about the league stage we would 01:04:55.650 --> 01:04:58.130 use different expressions so obviously you win 01:04:58.130 --> 01:05:02.610 the title and when you are in a lower division 01:05:02.610 --> 01:05:05.730 you say you get you get promoted and the opposite 01:05:05.730 --> 01:05:10.800 of that is to get demoted or also to get relegated, 01:05:10.820 --> 01:05:12.900 right? So that's when you're talking about the 01:05:12.900 --> 01:05:17.539 league stage. Okay, and then finally you can 01:05:17.539 --> 01:05:21.400 say to miss out on something. So you can say 01:05:21.400 --> 01:05:24.500 that Italy unfortunately have missed out on the 01:05:24.500 --> 01:05:28.119 World Cup, meaning they are not going to play 01:05:28.119 --> 01:05:30.519 there. They didn't do it. They couldn't do it. 01:05:30.539 --> 01:05:34.699 They didn't make it. Well, we made it here on 01:05:34.699 --> 01:05:38.360 the FootGlish podcast. And I'm also publishing 01:05:38.360 --> 01:05:42.019 this episode of the FootGlish podcast as an episode 01:05:42.019 --> 01:05:44.539 of my other podcast called Zdenek's English podcast. 01:05:44.679 --> 01:05:47.639 And that's because I know I've been neglecting 01:05:47.639 --> 01:05:51.059 the other podcast as well, just like I've been 01:05:51.059 --> 01:05:54.320 neglecting this one. So I hope you don't mind 01:05:54.320 --> 01:05:58.099 me doing that. I'm sort of killing two birds 01:05:58.099 --> 01:06:01.300 with one stone. And once again, let me know what 01:06:01.300 --> 01:06:04.619 you thought. This is also getting released as 01:06:04.619 --> 01:06:07.139 a video on the Teacher's Danek YouTube channel. 01:06:07.219 --> 01:06:09.500 So you have an opportunity to leave a comment 01:06:09.500 --> 01:06:12.880 and it would really help me out. If you are a 01:06:12.880 --> 01:06:16.199 regular viewer of my videos, if you do like this 01:06:16.199 --> 01:06:18.619 podcast, whether it's the Footgrish podcast or 01:06:18.619 --> 01:06:21.539 Danek's English podcast, why not leave a comment 01:06:21.539 --> 01:06:24.460 and help me out a little bit? Because obviously 01:06:24.460 --> 01:06:28.409 it will boost. algorithm and that's what all 01:06:28.409 --> 01:06:32.289 people on youtube are asking for okay i'm not 01:06:32.289 --> 01:06:35.110 gonna ask for anything else like likes of course 01:06:35.110 --> 01:06:37.090 you can do that too but i'm not asking for it 01:06:37.090 --> 01:06:41.070 because i think it's high time i ended this recording 01:06:41.070 --> 01:06:45.550 and thank you for your attention and yeah i hope 01:06:45.550 --> 01:06:48.590 to speak to you soon take care everyone bye