Opinion: Matěj Vydra discusses his tips for the World Cup
Discussing England
About performances in the group stage
"I think that they mainly wanted to win the group, advance to the round of 16, and only now will the matches begin for them, where they will have to really turn on and play. Maybe they will already face Senegal, but I see reserves in their game and they still have some way to go. They definitely went to Qatar to win, so now they have to show what they've got."
About the team and its young generation
"They have it well put together. They have chosen a mix of experienced players with young players who are playing in the elite leagues. I am probably most impressed by Jude Bellingham, who is playing fantastically. In my eyes, he is an absolute level above. And he is nineteen years old so hats off to him. The only thing that surprised me about the English was that Jordan Pickford stayed in goal. I would probably point to Aaron Ramsdale, who is leading the Premier League with Arsenal, but it is known that Gareth Southgate has maintained a strong loyalty for a long time."
About the 'underperforming' Harry Kane
"He hasn't made his mark yet, he creates more service for other team-mates, but I'm definitely not worried about him. His importance will be shown in the moment when things break down. He can strike at the right moment. So far, England have not needed him much, but he has already shown several times that he can score important goals. Moreover, as long as the team is doing well, as a striker you can be calm."
On Germany and Belgium's exit
"It's as if Europe fell asleep a bit. I couldn't have imagined something like that before the tournament. At one point, even Spain were on the verge of elimination, I already thought it would be a real sensation. But it didn't happen. Italy, who won EURO 2020, didn't even qualify. It's interesting. Maybe the Belgians themselves said they were old, but the question is whether it's because of that and not because of a slower style of football. I personally don't pay much attention to age. A lot of people say that Ronaldo is already old, but I think he can still score goals and be an important figure."
About the surprising performances of Japan, Morocco and Australia
"South Korea showed that they have extremely fast players who run away and that's enough for them. It's no longer about how many stars you have in your squad and what their price tag is, but how the players fight for their team. We can say that the Japanese or Koreans run around the field scared, they don't have such tactical maturity, but they are constantly in a sprint, they work and it's rewarding"
On Asian players
"We all know Son from the Premier League, but he plays in Tottenham, where coach Antonio Conte definitely pays a lot of attention to tactics. But they (South Korea) have more players there. For example, Hee-Chan Hwang from Wolverhampton scored the winning goal against Portugal on Friday. They have players in the Bundesliga or in Serie A. Japan is even better with players in the top 5 leagues. In addition to Japan and Morocco, Saudi Arabia also left a good impression, playing interesting football."
Discussing the tournament favourites
"For me, Brazil and France are still the biggest favorites. They can only meet each other in the final but I would prefer the final between Argentina and Portugal, so that Messi could face Ronaldo and give it to each other at the very end of their careers for the trophy that they lack. However, the tournament is drawn in such a way that in one wing the top European countries will compete against each other and in the other the others (South America, Asia, Africa). We are expecting an interesting spectacle, especially after the favorites in the groups lost to the smaller nations."
