Czech Republic coach Koubek resigns after disastrous World Cup campaign

[p]Koubek blamed "stupid ‌mistakes" and exhaustion from heavy travel for ‌his team's World Cup exit after ‌a 3-0 defeat by co-hosts Mexico in their last match left them bottom of ‌Group A with only one ⁠point gained in ‌a draw with South Africa.[/p][p][b]"A media campaign ​based on a number of half-truths and fabrications against me also ​contributed to my decision,"[/b] Koubek said in a statement.[/p][p][b]"In this atmosphere, my work ⁠for the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/czech-republic/6LHwBDGU/"]​Czech national team[/a] would no longer make sense."[/b][/p][embed guid="a63df39d-f749-4482-b117-53634df322ef" url="https://x.com/ceskarepre_cz/status/2071615339910107469" social-type="twitter" /][p]Koubek took over the national team following a shock qualifying loss to the ‌Faroe Islands and guided the Czechs through the playoffs to reach the World Cup for the first time since 2006.[/p][p]The players who featured in the successful playoff wins against Ireland and Denmark make up the core of the squad, including Wolverhampton defender [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/krejci-ladislav/nZ8SVvvE/"]Ladislav Krejci[/a] ‌and Olympique Lyonnais midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sulc-pavel/dYaeeH8k/"]Pavel Sulc[/a].[/p][p]The ​veteran coach, however, came under intense ‌scrutiny for his defensive approach and a decision to leave star striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/schick-patrik/WzQQSSfc/"]Patrik Schick[/a] on the bench for a critical clash with Mexico [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/czech-republic-6LHwBDGU/mexico-O6iHcNkd/?mid=GCoIA5bf"]that ⁠ended in ⁠a 3-0 loss[/a].[/p][image alt="The Czechs most recent results" id="d4f3f2b6-96e8-4164-b363-c5b60ffad5a7" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="76305d14-d1e8-4d16-9f87-6203c5055e66" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /]