The 18—Yard Box

World Cup, Germany—2006

The Czech Republic

Debutants, Yes. Underdogs, No.
Text Box: Statistics: FIFA Rank : 2 Qualification Position : 2nd in Group 1, 3rd in Playoffs. The Czech Republic will be participating for the first time in a FIFA world cup finals come 12th -June, when they kickoff against the United States of America. This vibrant team, having been placed in a tough group, would be looking to continue from where they left off in EURO 2004. They would also be looking to do justice to their FIFA ranking. After a splendid performance in Portugal in the summer of ‘04, followed by a strong WC qualifying campaign, the Czechs find themselves in the second spot in the FIFA rankings, just after five time world champions, Brazil. The Czechs qualified for the ’06 WC, much to their fans’ delight, after beating Norway in the play-offs. One nil in both the legs. Their haul of 27 points in the European Qualifying rounds was good enough for a second spot, after Holland topped the group. The situation they were in wasn’t entirely dissimilar to the one they found themselves in four years back, when, during the qualifying stages of the ’02 WC, they suffered defeat at the hands of Belgium in the play-offs, thus saving themselves a trip to Korea-Japan. Group E In this edition of the World Cup, the Czechs are in Group E, along with soccer giants Italy, USA and debutants Ghana. Italy - The Italians, winners of three world cups, were severely criticized for their defensive tactics in EURO 04. In the last world cup, they lost at the hands of minnows South Korea, much to the disgust of their fans. The players promptly trashed up their dressing room, as a protest against the refereeing decisions. However, they are a team brimming with talent and would be vying for a place in the next round. USA - The Americans have improved by leaps and bounds and they have shown that they are good at this version of football too, after they upset Portugal’s applecart in the ‘02 edition. They went on to quarterfinal stage, their best ever performance in a world cup. Ghana - Four time African champions Ghana would be eager to prove their mettle on the international stage. So a berth in the second round is by no means a certainty for the Czechs. Czech Republic brushed aside a faltering Germany and went on to top the group. They then trashed Denmark in the quarterfinals before they lost to Greece in the semis.