Czech Football Chief Confirms Talks With Barcelona's Ori Goren

Pavel Nedvěd, the Czech Republic's National Teams Manager and a legendary former player, has confirmed ongoing discussions to recruit 17-year-old Israeli midfielder Ori Goren to the Czech national team. Nedvěd stated in a podcast interview that the Czech football association believes Goren is ready for the senior team and has presented him with this possibility. Goren, who holds Czech citizenship through family roots and currently represents Israel in youth teams, was recently on the bench for Barcelona's match against Real Madrid.

Nedvěd revealed that the Czechs have approached Goren and his family multiple times, expressing confidence in his talent, which he compared to that of Barcelona's Pedri. "We are in touch with him, with his family, and with his agent. I think he is a huge talent. Not just in Czech-Israeli football, but in general," Nedvěd said. He acknowledged that Goren could also choose to play for Israel, his father's country, making the recruitment task challenging. However, Nedvěd believes the offer presented to Goren and his family was appealing.

The Czech proposal goes beyond youth team participation, as they see Goren as capable of joining their senior squad immediately, even though he is eligible for the upcoming youth qualifiers for Israel. "He belongs to the U-18 age group, and now he is expected to receive a call-up to the Israeli youth team, where he will play in the qualifiers, but we have offered him more than that. We think he already has the ability to be with our senior team," Nedvěd explained.

Nedvěd praised Goren's technical skills, noting his suitability for Barcelona's style of play and predicting he will soon be a starter for the club. While Nedvěd publicly confirmed the Czech interest and their ambition to integrate Goren into the senior team, no decision from Goren or an official call-up has been announced.