They did not reach the victory, but grateful applause resounded in the stands under the lit iconic lollipops. “A beautiful atmosphere, the girls must have enjoyed it,” said television co-commentator Kateřina Svitková.
The Chelsea midfielder, at the time in a slump, is often critical of the situation in Czech women’s football, but this time she exuded satisfaction. Almost seven and a half thousand fans have never arrived at a home match of the women’s national team before. “It was well organized. Several concessions were made so that so many people could come,” noted Svitková.
In the Malšovick Arena, the audience record was broken for the women’s team A match. 🤩🎉 Thank you to all the fans for the incredible support of Czech women’s football! 🇨🇿👏 pic.twitter.com/36SIlVUart
— Czech national football team (@ceskarepre_cz) October 31, 2023
Two positive moments came together in Hradec Králové. Firstly, the new Malšovica Arena and the locals’ hunger for international football, the national team last played there in the eighties. And secondly, the hopes of female footballers to advance to the elite league A, from where the path to EURO 2025 should be easier on paper. If the Czechs win, they could skip Bosnia and move to first place in the group after four of the six rounds.
“It was wonderful to score a goal in front of so many people, and it was my first in the national team,” said midfielder Franny Černá in a television interview. “I was hoping that the second tie would kick us up and we’d hit one more time.”
That didn’t happen, and coach Karel Rada’s team knows after a 2:2 draw that even two wins from the last two games with Belarus (December 1 on neutral ground in Györ, Hungary) and Slovenia (December 5 in Pardubice) may not be enough for direct promotion. . Another audience record will not be broken against Slovenia, the Pardubice arena can accommodate 4,620 spectators.
Meanwhile, Hradec is looking forward to further national team matches. On the 20th of November, the 21st team will play a friendly with Slovakia there, which could be a test for the continuation of the European qualification against Iceland in March. The venue of the match has not yet been determined, but according to Sport.cz, Hradec is not without a chance. And after twenty-one, the men’s national team can come, and the new stadium in Hradec Králové has parameters for its matches as well. Exactly as Hradec’s general manager Richard Jukl mentioned shortly after the opening in the Bodlo podcast on Sport.cz: “We are a rich bride.”
2023-11-01 09:48:17
#milestone #womens #football #Hradec #Sport.cz
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