Czech Republic national football team
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| Shirt badge/Association crest | |||
| Association | Českomoravský fotbalový svaz | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | None | ||
| Captain | Petr Čech | ||
| Most caps | Karel Poborský (118) | ||
| Top scorer | Jan Koller (55) | ||
| Home stadium | AXA Arena Na Stínadlech Stadion Eden | ||
| FIFA code | CZE | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 12 | ||
| Highest | 2 (March 1994) | ||
| Lowest | 67 (September 1999 From January 2000 to May 2000 from April 2005 to May 2005 From January 2006 to May 2006) | ||
| First international | |||
 Hungary 2 - 1 Bohemia  (Budapest, Hungary; 5 April 1903)  Turkey 1 - 4 Czech Republic  (Istanbul, Turkey; 23 February 1994) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Czech Republic 8 - 1 Andorra  (Liberec, Czech Republic; 4 June 2005) Czech Republic 7 - 0 San Marino  (Liberec, Czech Republic; 7 October 2006) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
Bohemia 0-4 England  (Prague, Bohemia; 13 June 1908)  Switzerland 3 - 0 Czech Republic (Zürich, Switzerland; 20 April 1994) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2006) | ||
| Best result | Round 1, 2006 | ||
| European Championship | |||
| Appearances | 4 (first in 1996) | ||
| Best result | Runners-up, 1996 | ||
| FIFA Confederations Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 (first in 1997) | ||
| Best result | 3rd, 1997 | ||
The Czech national football team is the national football team of the Czech Republic controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic.
History
Before World War I, Bohemia (present–day Czech Republic), whilst part of Austria–Hungary, played seven matches between 1903 and 1908, six of them against Hungary and one against England. Bohemia also played a match against Yugoslavia, Ostmark and Germany in 1939 while being the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
When the Czech Republic was part of Czechoslovakia, the national team had runner–up finishes in World Cups (1934, 1962) and a European Championship win in 1976.
When Czechoslovakia split and reformed into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Czech Republic national team was formed, and they played their first friendly match away to Turkey, winning 4–1, on 23 February 1994. The newly formed team played their first home game in Ostrava, against Lithuania, in which they registered their first home win, a 5–3 victory.
Their first competitive match was part of the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying campaign, in which they defeated Malta 6–1 in Ostrava. During the campaign, the Czech Republic registered six wins, three draws, and a solitary defeat, finishing their qualifying group 5 in first place, above favorites The Netherlands. In the final tournament, hosted by England. The Czechs progressed from the group stage, despite a 2–0 opening game defeat to Germany. They continued their good form, and progressed to the UEFA Euro 1996 final where they lost 2–1 to the Germans at Wembley Stadium.
Given their success at Euro '96, the Czechs were expected to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, however, finished third in their group behind Spain, and Yugoslavia, and subsequently failed to qualify.
They did, however qualify for Euro 2000, winning all ten of their group games, conceding just five goals. The team failed to perform well at the finals though, producing just one win, and being eliminated in the group stage.
Once again, the Czech Republic failed to qualify for the World Cup, this time finishing second in their group, behind Denmark, and then being beaten 1–0, and 0–1 by Belgium in the UEFA play–offs for a place in the finals.
They progressed to the finals of Euro 2004, qualifying through their group ahead of The Netherlands, and their only dropped points being in a 1–1 draw away to Holland. In the finals, the Czechs progressed to the semi–finals, where they were beaten 1–0 by the eventual champions Greece
The Czechs finally qualified for a FIFA World Cup, qualifying for the 2006 edition in Germany, via a play–off against Norway, winning both legs 1–0. They seemed set to progress to the last 16, with a 3–0 win over the USA, however, 2–0 defeats to Ghana, and Italy promptly ended their hopes of progression.
The disappointing World Cup campaign was followed by a successful qualifying campaign for Euro 2008, where they finished top of their group, above Germany on head–to–head records. The Czechs beat co–hosts Switzerland 1–0 in their opening game, before being beaten 3–1 by Portugal, this meant that they, and Turkey carried identical records going into the final group game, the Czechs took a 2–0 lead just past the hour mark, they looked set to qualify, before a stunning late Turkish comeback in the last 15 minutes of the game, and the Czechs lost 2–3, and that signaled the end of another disappointing performance at a major tournament and the final match for coach Karel Brückner.
Record in major tournaments
World Cup
For 1930 to 1994 records, see: Czechoslovakia
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1998 |
Did not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  2002 |
Did not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
 2006 |
Round 1 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
 2010 |
Qualifying1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 1/3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Notes
1Qualifying in progress
European Championship
For 1960 to 1992 records, see: Czechoslovakia
| Year | Round | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 |
Runners-up | 6 | 2 | 2* | 2 | 7 | 8 |
  2000 |
Round 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
 2004 |
Semi-Final | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 |
 2008 |
Round 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
  2012 |
2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 4/4 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 24 | 22 |
- *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty shootout.
- **Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Notes
2 Qualification not yet begun
Coaches
Václav Ježek (1993)
Dušan Uhrin (1994-1997)
Jozef Chovanec (1998-2001)
Karel Brückner (2001-2008)
Petr Rada (2008-2009)
The Czech Republic of today
FIFA World Cup qualification
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 3
Results over the last 12 months
| Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 May 2008 | Czech Republic
|
3-1 | Scotland 
|
| 7 June 2008 | Switzerland
|
0-1 | Czech Republic
|
| 11 June 2008 | Czech Republic
|
1-3 | Portugal
|
| 15 June 2008 | Czech Republic
|
2-3 | Turkey
|
| 20 August 2008 | England
|
2-2 | Czech Republic
|
| 10 September 2008 |  Northern Ireland
|
0-0 | Czech Republic
|
| 11 October 2008 | Poland
|
2-1 | Czech Republic
|
| 15 October 2008 | Czech Republic
|
1-0 | Slovenia 
|
| 19 November 2008 | San Marino
|
0-3 | Czech Republic
|
| 11 February 2009 |  Morocco
|
0-0 | Czech Republic
|
| 28 March 2009 | Slovenia
|
0-0 | Czech Republic
|
| 1 April 2009 | Czech Republic
|
1-2 | Slovakia
|
Stadia
The most important matches of the Czech national team are held in Prague´s AXA Arena, the home stadium of Sparta Prague. Other venues include Stadion Eden (the biggest and perhaps most modern in the country) and stadiums in the cities of Teplice, Olomouc and Liberec.
Most Recent Squad
[2]
Match Date: March 28 2009 and April 1 2009
Venue: Ljudski vrt and AXA Arena
Opposition: Slovenia and Slovakia
Head coach: Petr Rada
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Petr Čech Vice-capitan | May 20, 1982 | 68 | 0 | Chelsea
|
| 16 | GK | Jaroslav Drobný | October 18, 1979 | 2 | 0 | Hertha Berlin
|
| 23 | GK | Martin Vaniak | October 4, 1970 | 7 | 0 | Slavia Praha
|
| 2 | DF | Zdeněk Grygera | May 14, 1980 | 59 | 2 |  Juventus
|
| 4 | DF | David Rozehnal | July 5, 1980 | 52 | 0 | Lazio
|
| 6 | DF | Marek Jankulovski | May 9, 1977 | 71 | 11 | Milan
|
| 12 | DF | Zdeněk Pospěch | December 14, 1978 | 13 | 1 |  Copenhagen
|
| 13 | DF | Marek Suchý | March 29, 1988 | 0 | 0 | Slavia Praha
|
| 19 | DF | Michal Kadlec | December 13, 1984 | 9 | 1 | Bayer Leverkusen
|
| 21 | DF | Tomáš Ujfaluši (retired) | March 24, 1978 | 75 | 2 |  Atletico Madrid
|
| 3 | MF | Jan Polák | March 14, 1981 | 43 | 6 | Anderlecht
|
| 5 | MF | Radoslav Kováč (banned) | November 27, 1979 | 27 | 1 | West Ham United
|
| 7 | MF | Libor Sionko | February 1, 1977 | 36 | 8 | Copenhagen
|
| 9 | MF | Jaroslav Plašil | January 5, 1982 | 44 | 3 | Osasuna
|
| 11 | MF | Marek Matějovský (banned) | December 20, 1981 | 12 | 1 | Reading
|
| 14 | MF | David Jarolím | May 17, 1979 | 21 | 1 | Hamburger SV
|
| 8 | FW | Martin Fenin (banned) | April 16, 1987 | 7 | 1 | Eintracht Frankfurt
|
| 10 | FW | Václav Svěrkoš (banned) | November 1, 1983 | 6 | 1 | Sochaux
|
| 15 | FW | Milan Baroš (banned) | October 28, 1981 | 72 | 32 | Galatasaray
|
| 18 | FW | Tomáš Necid | August 13, 1989 | 1 | 1 |  CSKA Moscow
|
After a defeat in the match against Slovakia, Rada was fired as coach. After a reported breach of discipline, the Czech federation banned Ujfaluši, Baroš, Fenin, Matějovský, Svěrkoš and Kováč indefinitely. Ujfaluši, then the captain, immediately quit the international team.
Recent call-up
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Daniel Zítka | June 20, 1975 | 3 | 0 | Anderlecht
| |
| GK | Jan Laštůvka | July 7, 1982 | 0 | 0 | West Ham United
| |
| GK | Martin Lejsal | September 16, 1982 | 0 | 0 | Brno
| |
| GK | Michal Daněk | July 6, 1983 | 0 | 0 | Viktoria Plzeň
| |
| DF | Jan Šimůnek | February 20, 1987 | 0 | 0 | Wolfsburg
| |
| DF | Tomáš Zápotočný | September 13, 1980 | 4 | 0 | Besiktas
| |
| DF | Martin Jiránek | May 25, 1979 | 31 | 0 | Spartak Moscow
| |
| MF | Mario Holek | October 28, 1986 | 0 | 0 | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
| |
| MF | Luboš Kalouda | May 20, 1987 | 0 | 0 | CSKA Moscow
| |
| MF | Jiří Kladrubský | November 19, 1985 | 1 | 0 | Sparta Praha
| |
| MF | Daniel Pudil | September 27, 1985 | 3 | 1 | Genk
| |
| MF | Tomáš Rosický (captain) | October 4, 1980 | 70 | 24 | Arsenal
| |
| MF | Rudolf Skácel | July 17, 1979 | 5 | 1 | Southampton
| |
| MF | Marek Střeštík | February 1, 1987 | 0 | 0 | Brno
| |
| MF | Tomáš Sivok | September 15, 1983 | 6 | 0 | Besiktas
| |
| MF | Stanislav Vlček | February 26, 1976 | 14 | 0 | Anderlecht
| |
| FW | Karel Piták | January 28, 1980 | 3 | 0 | Red Bull Salzburg
| |
| FW | Marek Kulič | October 11, 1975 | 9 | 2 | Sparta Praha
| |
| FW | Michal Papadopulos | September 30, 1981 | 1 | 0 | Mladá Boleslav
| |
| FW | Miroslav Slepička | November 10, 1981 | 1 | 0 |  Dinamo Zagreb
|
Past squads and campaigns
European Championship Squads
World Cup Squads
See also
References
External links
International association football | ||
|---|---|---|
| World (FIFA) |  | |
| Asia (AFC) | ||
| Africa (CAF) | ||
| North America (CONCACAF) | ||
| South America (CONMEBOL) | ||
| Oceania (OFC) | ||
| Europe (UEFA) | ||
| Inter-Continental |
| |
| Non-FIFA | ||
2006 FIFA World Cup finalists | |
|---|---|
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Third place | |
| Fourth place | |
| Quarter-finals | |
| Round of 16 | |
| Group stage | |
