Matej Kovár: Light in the dark night of the Czech Republic team

The Czech Republic team's start at the 2026 World Cup was not as expected when they lost to South Korea. However, goalkeeper Matej Kovár was one of the rare bright spots in this match. He made many important saves, helping the team keep the match for a long time. However, Kovár still expressed disappointment when he could not help the team avoid defeat.

"My saves don't mean anything as we remain with no points," Kovár told Czech media after the match. He commented that Korea's ability to control the ball is very good, with many dangerous attack situations. "We need to review the video to learn lessons for the next matches. The next match against South Africa will be very important, especially when our last match is against Mexico - a highly rated opponent," he emphasized.

Although not satisfied with his own performance, the Czech press had a more positive view of what Kovár had shown. iDNES commented that without his saves, the Czech Republic would have had even more difficulties. In this match, Kovár made four saves, most notably blocking two consecutive shots from Hwang at the beginning of the second half. He also made an excellent save against PSG player Lee's kick after just the first 15 minutes of the match.