Czech Republic

31 June :: Greece - Czech Republic 1-0
Greece ripped up the form book by beating Euro 2004 favorites Czech Republic with a silver goal to face host nation Portugal in the final.The Czech started off with confidence producing a number of chances.Tomas Rosicky struck the crossbar from a spectacular volley.The Greek defense and goalkeeper barely held their ground until the late first half when starman Pavel Nedved injured himself and limped off to be replaced by Vladimir Smicer.The Czech Republic continued their raids in the second half but could not finish.Jan Koller fired wide from 10 yards.Jankulovsky wasted another good opportunity as well.The match went into extra time.With the seconds ticking down to the end of the first extra period, Dellas lost his marker Bolf at the near post to glance home the winning header from a corner.

27 June :: Czech Rep - Denmark 3-0
The Czech Republic stormed over Denmark 3-0 eliminating them from the tournament and advancing to the semis.Everybody's new favorite outsiders for Euro 2004 justified some of the growing belief that they can win their second European Championship with a performance that lasted in total just over a quarter of an hour. A scoreless and tense first half did not set the tone for the deluge of goals that followed, but Koller put the Czechs on their way four minutes into the second period when he rose unchallenged to head Karel Poborský's corner past Thomas Sørensen in the Danish goal. Milan Baros quickly followed with two beautiful goals and the match was over for Denmark.

23 June :: Germany - Czech Rep 1-2
The reserve squad of the Czech Republic defeated Germany 2-1.The Czechs came into the game as assured winners of Group D while Germany desperately needed three points.Germany started off with confidence missing a number of opportunities.A pile driver from Ballack fired Germany ahead but Heinz promptly equalized.Offensive creativity was lacking in Germany's game and regardless of their tenacious attempts they could not produce another goal. Germany's fruitless attempts left them exposed and Milan Baros put the Czechs ahead in the 75 minute.This is the second time ever that Germany has lost a European Championship match after having taken the lead.The Germans have now not won any of their last six Euro matches since beating the Czech Republic in the 1996 final.

19 June :: Czech Rep - Holland 3-2
Czech Republic vs Holland was an enthralling encounter where all-out attacking instincts gushed through both sides. There were moments when Holland had three men back with seven options ahead of them eager to spring out the traps and race at Peter Cech's goal.The Dutch were dominant, and relaxed, they even looked content with the world. A second goal was in the air and Ruud van Nistelrooy went looking for it with a melodramatic lurch to the ground in search of a penalty.It was an astounding 3-2 comeback by the Czech Republic, and with it group leadership was confirmed and deserved.

15 June :: Czech Republic - Latvia 2-1
Thanks to two goals in the last 17 minutes, the Czech Republic narrowly defeated Latvia 2-1 at Aveiro.Verpakovskis opened the score at the end of the first half stunning the Czechs who up to that point were in control of the match.In the second period, Latvia tried to pack it in but the consistency of Nedved and his teammates eventually produced opportunities.The reigning Golden Ball holder had a dangerous shot himself in the 53rd minute but was denied by Kolinko.Not long after, Baroš equalized by exploiting the disorganization of the Latvian defense.With barely 5 minutes on the clock, Heinz volleyed in the winning goal for the Czechs.

Overview
At Euro 1996, the Czech Republic took silver.Similarly to that tournament, they have once more been placed in the most difficult group this time featuring Germany and Holland.

Czech Republic Squad - Final Selection

	Player	Club	Born	Position
1.	Petr Cech	Rennes	20.05.1982	GK
2.	Zdenek Grygera	Ajax Amsterdam	14.05.1980	DF
3.	Pavel Mares	St. Petersburg	18.01.1976	DF
4.	Tomas Galasek	Ajax Amsterdam	15.01.1973	MF
5.	Rene Bolf	Banik Ostrava	25.02.1974	DF
6.	Marek Jankulovski	Udine	09.05.1977	DF
7.	Vladimir Smicer	Liverpool	24.05.1973	MF
8.	Karel Poborsky	Sparta Prague	30.03.1972	MF
9.	Jan Koller	Borussia Dormund	30.03.1973	AT
10.	Tomas Rosicky	Borussia Dortmund	04.10.1980	MF
11.	Pavel Nedved	Juventus	30.08.1972	MF
12.	Vratislav Lokvenc	Kaiserslautern	27.09.1973	AT
13.	Martin Jiranek	Reggina	25.05.1979	DF
14.	Stepan Vachousek	Marseille	26.07.1979	MF
15.	Milan Baros	Liverpool	28.10.1981	AT
16.	Jaromir Blazek	Sparta Prague	29.12.1972	GK
17.	Tomas Hubschmann	Sparta Prague	04.09.1981	DF
18.	Marek Heinz	Banik Ostrava	04.08.1977	AT
19.	Roman Tyce	Munich 1860	07.05.1977	MF
20.	Jaroslav Plasil	AS Monaco	-	MF
21.	Tomas Ujfalusi	Hamburger SV	24.03.1978	DF
22.	David Rozehnal	Brugge	-	DF
23.	Antonin Kinsky	Ramenskoye	31.05.1975	GK
Coach: Karel Bruckner

Czech Republic Fixtures
All kick-offs are in local Portuguese time (GMT 0)

Tuesday, 15th June 19.45
Czech Republic vs Latvia (Group D)
at Aveiro

Saturday, 19th June 19.45
Czech Republic vs Holland (Group D)
at Aveiro

Wednesday, 23th June 19.45
Czech Republic vs Germany (Group D)
at Lisbon

Players to Watch

Pavel Nedved
It is hard not to notice Nedved when he's on the pitch. The Juventus midfielder is one of the hardest working players in the game today. He is the engine of the Czech squad.