The Czech Republic National Football Team
The Record of the Czech Soccer Side Since Splitting From Slovakia
Oct 20, 2009
Czechoslovakia, which was created in 1918 from part of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire existed until 1993, when it split into to states, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. As I combined force Czechoslovakia had won the European Championships 1976, with a penalty shoot-out victory over West Germany in the final, as well as reaching the finals of two World Cups, in 1934 and 1962.
The Czech Republic Reach the Final at Euro 96
The first competitive test for the newly formed Czech side was the qualifying campaign for the 1996 European Championships. They were drawn in a tough group which included the Netherlands, but, despite a shock defeat to Luxembourg, they topped the group in style. Having qualified for a major tournament at the first attempt, the Czech Republic went on to make a strong impression at the finals in England, losing to Germany, but defeating Italy and drawing with Russia to make the knockout stages, where they beat Portugal, and then won a penalty shoot out against France to set-up a re-match against the Germans in the final, only to lose 2-1 after extra-time.
The Czech’s next challenge was to attempt to reach the 1998 World Cup finals in France. But the squad could not maintain the momentum which had almost carried them to victory in England. Pitted against neighbours Slovakia, whom they beat at home but lost to away, they crashed out after finishing third in the group, behind Spain and Yugoslavia. However, their poor form evaporated in time for the Euro 2000 qualifying matches, as they won ten out of ten matches in an admittedly easy group to earn their status as genuine contenders to win the tournament. But their high hopes for the finals, hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands, were quickly dashed with first round defeats France and the Netherlands.
Play-Off Defeat and Victory for the Czech Republic
More misery followed as the Czech’s once again failed to qualify for the World Cup. They finished runner-up to Denmark in their initial group, which earned them a two legged play-off against Belgium to qualify. Despite going into the tie as favourites, the Czech’s lost both matches 1-0, and were once again denied a place at Fifa’s showpiece tournament. As they had done four years previously, the Czech Republic shrugged off the disappointment and kept an unbeaten qualifying record in the European Championships, topping their group and taking their place in the finals, which this time were held in Portugal. Once again they started a tournament amongst the favourites, and this time they justified the hype by beating Latvia the Netherlands and Germany in the group stages. A convincing 3-0 victory over Denmark set up a semi-final against little fancied Greece, but an extra-time ‘silver goal’ saw the Greeks home, and for the third European Championships in a row, the Czech’s were defeated by the eventual champions.
Attention once again turned to the World Cup. Once again the Czech’s were drawn against the Netherlands in qualifying, but this time they sealed second place in the group, ahead of the tricky Romanians, which earned them a play-off against Norway. This time they won both legs 1-0, and finally made it to a World Cup final tournament. The 2006 finals were held in Germany, and the Czech’s made a winning start against the USA before a shock defeat to Ghana, and another loss to the eventual champions Italy saw them eliminated in the first round.
The Czech Republic Fail to Reach the World Cup Finals in South Africa
Qualification for Euro 2008 once again saw the Czech’s up against the Slovak’s, this time the Czech’s one both fixtures, helping to top a group that included Germany, and once again complete a stylish progression to the European Championship finals. A win over co-hosts Switzerland saw them off to the perfect start, but defeat to Portugal left them needing victory over Turkey to progress to the knockout rounds. The Czech’s gained a 2-0 lead before finally going down 3-2. This time he Czech’s had not even the consolation of losing to the best team in the tournament, as Spain went on to record a deserved overall victory.
The Czech’s were then drawn in what looked to be a relatively easy group from which to attempt qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. However, defeats in Poland, and even worse, at home to Slovakia, as well as two goalless draws with Northern Ireland and a 2-2 draw in Slovakia meant that the Czech Republic finished only third in the table, behind Slovakia and Slovenia, and it would be their neighbours, and not they, who would travel to the first World Cup on the African continent.
