CZECH FOR HISTORY Won the gold in Croatia, debuts against Bilić

– I am very happy to be here. Czech football has a rich history and I am extremely motivated by this project. My only wish is to start work as soon as possible.

Denia, who led the Spanish Olympic team to gold at the 2024 Games in Paris, will play his first match in September, when Croatia host Croatia in the League of Nations on September 26 (this will also be Slaven Bilic’s second debut), then he will play against England.

The Czech national team will meet the world and European champions Spain in the League of Nations, which will bring Denia and his former colleague Luis de la Fuente a test.

– I was born in Spain and I worked for the association there for 15 years (I won the Euro U-17 in Croatia in 2017, op.a.), but now things are different. ŽI want to beat Spain – said Denia, who spent a large part of his playing career in Atlético Madrid (1995-2004), and won the Spanish championship title with him in 1996. He played twice for the Spanish national team.

Broos will no longer be the South African coach

South Africa coach Hugo Broos said that he will not extend his contract for that length of time when it expires, the South Africa Football Association announced on Friday.

Belgian Broos (74) led the South African national team (known as “Bafana Bafana”) from May 2021 and led them to third place at the 2023 African Cup of Nations, as well as to the knockout phase of the 2026 World Cup, where they were eliminated in the round of 16 after losing to Canada.

The South African Football Association reportedly offered Broos a contract extension until the end of the 2027 African Cup of Nations, which takes place in July of that year, but he instead decided to end his professional coaching career, just as he announced before the start of the World Cup.

Broos became the oldest coach to win a World Cup at 74 years and 75 days, when his team defeated South Korea in the final match of Group A.

The next challenge for the South African national team is the qualification for the 2027 African Cup of Nations, which starts with a home match against Guinea at the end of September.