Just minutes after witnessing his team defeat Moldova 3-0 to secure automatic qualification for Euro 2024, Czech Republic coach Jaroslav Silhavy announced his resignation on Monday.
"We had already decided before the game not to continue, even though we are happy now," the 62-year-old coach said in a post-match interview with Czech Television.
After taking over the position in 2018, Silhavy advanced his team to the Euro 2020 quarterfinals but was unable to secure a spot in the World Cup in Qatar the previous year.
The Czechs have now guaranteed a place in the German Euros the following year, but coach Milan Šeček has come under fire for the team's dismal showing in Group E, where they won just four of eight games and finished second behind Albania.
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The scandal from last weekend, which resulted in the sending home of West Ham defender Vladimir Coufal and two other players after they spent Saturday night at a nightclub, also hurt the Czech team.
"There were moments when the pressure was unbearable. It was tremendous. It played a role in our choice, according to Silhavy.
After the Czechs lost badly in Albania in October—the former defender's future was called into question.
Instead of terminating his employment, the Czech Football Association reduced it to November 30 with the option to extend it if the Czechs make it to Euro 2024.
But Saturday's celebration was just another severance of his career, since two days prior to the Moldova match, Coufal, Sparta Prague striker Jan Kuchta, and Aris Thessaloniki defender Jakub Brabec were all pictured in a nightclub.
The players extended their regret, but football analysts blamed Silhavy for the unfavorable environment on the team.
The coach called the situation "a big disappointment," given that all three had started the 1-1 draw with Poland in Warsaw last Friday.
"I won't say whether I was successful or not," Silhavy said on Monday.
"You can see we have done some work, we have been working here for more than five years and there's nothing we should be ashamed of."
He said he would travel to Germany as a fan.
"Germany is near (the Czech Republic). We will definitely go and cheer for the boys."
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