Czech Republic football coach Jaroslav Silhavy steps down after qualifying for Euro 2024

PRAGUE – The Czech Republic beat 10-man Moldova 3-0 to qualify for Euro 2024 after Tomas Chory scored and provided an assist on his international debut in the Group E clash on Nov 20.

However, coach Jaroslav Silhavy resigned after the win, saying his decision was partly due to the pressure of the job.

His side struck when Chory picked out David Doudera down the left flank and the defender collected the ball before slotting past onrushing goalkeeper Dorian Railean in the 14th minute.

Viktoria Plzen’s Chory, playing in his hometown Olomouc, powered home a header from Vasil Kusej’s corner in the 72nd minute before captain Tomas Soucek, a defensive midfielder for English Premier League side West Ham United, scored the third goal just before the end.

Moldova, who had defender Vladislav Baboglo sent off 10 minutes after half-time for a second yellow card, posed problems for the Czechs early on but lacked a clinical finish.

The Czechs played without fullback Vladimir Coufal, another West Ham player, central defender Jakub Brabec and forward Jan Kuchta, who were all sent home for violating team rules after being photographed in a nightclub ahead of the match.

All three played in the 1-1 draw in Poland on Nov 17.

The Czech victory means the runners-up will play in their eighth successive European championship after finishing second, level on 15 points with Albania, who have a better head-to-head record.

“Although we are happy now, we had already decided before the game not to continue,” Silhavy said in an interview as he explained why he was stepping down despite qualifying.

“I told (Czech Football Association) president Petr Fouska. The pressure was already enormous, sometimes I didn’t understand it myself. This also contributed to our decision.”

Slovenia will appear at the European Championship for the first time since 2000 after their 2-1 win at home over Kazakhstan in Ljubljana clinched second place behind Denmark in Group H.

Benjamin Verbic netted Slovenia’s late winner after Kazakh Ramazan Orazov had cancelled out Benjamin Sesko’s penalty opener.

“I am really happy, happy and proud. It was not easy,” said their coach Matjaz Kek.

“This is another milestone in Slovenian football… It was difficult from the very beginning.

“But we were focused, we clearly showed what we wanted.”

Kazakhstan would have qualified for their first major tournament with a win but will instead go into the play-offs with Finland, after both teams finished level on points.

Denmark lost 2-0 in Northern Ireland while Finland won 2-1 away to minnows San Marino. REUTERS, AFP