Thanks to a top of the table finish in Group A in the qualifiers, Czech Republic have booked their seat for the finals of Euro 2016. Czechs were drawn into the Group D alongside Spain, Turkey and Croatia.
They won 7 out of their 10 games in the qualifiers and will be confident going into the group stage of the competition.
Czech Republic’s Euro 2016 Squad:
Manager: Pavel Vrba
Goalkeepers: Petr Cech (Arsenal), Tomas Vaclik (Basle), Tomas Koubek (Slovan Liberec)
Defenders: Theodor Gebre Selassie (Werder Bremen), Roman Hubnik (Viktoria Pilsen), Pavel Kaderabek (Hoffenheim), Michal Kadlec (Fenerbahce), David Limbersky (Viktoria Pilsen), Daniel Pudil (Sheffield Wednesday), Marek Suchy (Basle), Tomas Sivok (Bursaspor), Ondrej Zahustel (Sparta Prague)
Midfielders: Vladimir Darida (Hertha Berlin), Borek Dockal (Sparta Prague), Daniel Kolar (Viktoria Pilsen), Jan Kovarik (Viktoria Pilsen), Ladislav Krejci (Sparta Prague), Lukas Marecek (Sparta Prague), David Pavelka (Kasimpasa), Jaroslav Plasil (Bordeaux), Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal), Jiri Skalek (Brighton), Josef Sural (Sparta Prague)
Forwards: David Lafata (Sparta Prague), Tomas Necid (Burkaspor), Patrik Schick (Bohemians 1905), Milan Skoda (Slavia Prague), Matej Vydra (Reading)
There are hardly any surprises in the squad as the main stays of the qualifiers managed to keep their place in Vrba’s squad for the finals.
Petr Cech will probably lead the side into the tournament while David Lafata and Milan Skoda will be given the responsibility to find the back of the net.
Ladislav Krejci has been a constant presence in the mid-field and will have an important role in the side’s plans for the competition.
Key Players:
Petr Cech – After superb season in the Premier League helping Arsenal to a 2nd place finish the skipper of the side will be high on confidence going into the competition in France.
Cech is a player who is always dependable and his calm and composed approach to the game will also help Czech’s back-four to stay organized throughout the Euro 2016.
He will surely give his all in the competition and it will not be easy for teams to find a way past him.
Borek Dockal – The Sparta Prague mid-fielder has been in sensational form for both club and the country since the turn of the year.
He has been influential in his side’s run in the domestic league and has also helped the Czech Republic side to a top placed finish in the points table scoring 4 goals and assisting 2 more.
He is an impact player who can easily be the difference between winning and losing in crunch games.
Wildcard:
Matej Vydra – The 23-year old Reading forward has rose to the occasion in many situations for the English side and has gathered a lot of experience in his stint with the club.
He already has two senior caps for his country and has shown plenty of promise in recent games. Surely, Vydra will be a player the opposition teams need to watch-out for when playing the Czech.
Tactical Setup
Coach Pavel Vbra likes a fixed system of playing two mid-fielder in front of the defense and leave three in attack along with a lone striker.
Pavelka and Darida have been excellent in the holding mid-field area for the side in the qualifiers while Kaderabek and Limbersky, the two full backs have provided the width for the team.
Krejci and Necid will have to form a good partnership and will have to be penetrative for the Czech to stand a chance at qualification.
Fixtures:
Spain (June 13), Croatia (June 17), Turkey (June 21)
How far can they go?
With Spain favorites for the first place from Group C, Czech Republic along with Turkey and Croatia will fight for the possible two round of 16 spots in the group.
Croatia have a decent set of players while Turkey can be competitive but the momentum will be with the Czechs having won 8 out of their last 10 games as they will hope to get into the knock-out stages with some good performances.
However that would be it for the side who will have to play out of their skins to win the quarter final of the competition.
Image Credit: Getty, Lineupbuilder