How did they perform in UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying?
• With Group D settling quickly into a two-horse race between Germany and the Czech Republic, Karel Brückner's side never looked unlikely to qualify, but finished the job in some style.
• The two frontrunners met for the first time in Prague on 24 March 2007, when two goals from Kevin Kuranyi rendered Milan Baroš's 77th-minute effort redundant and sent Joachim Löw's side three points clear at the top of the section.
• The Czechs held their nerve in subsequent games, however, and spoiled Germany's qualification celebrations by overcoming their neighbours 3-0 in Munich on 17 October 2007 to seal their place in the finals with two games to spare.
• Victory was all the sweeter for having been achieved without a number of top players. Libor Sionko, Marek Matějovský and Jaroslav Plašil scored the goals that silenced the Bavarian crowd and centre-back David Rozehnal said: "Qualifying is nice but the way we did it is even better."
• They went on to win the group with a 2-0 triumph in Cyprus in their final qualifier.
How did they perform in the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
• Won their opening five home matches in qualifying before losing 2-0 in Prague to the Netherlands in their penultimate fixture in the competition, a result that decided the fate of group honours.
• One of those victories included an 8-1 defeat of Andorra, to date the Czechs widest margin of victory in a competitive international.
• Got off to a fine start at the finals with a 3-0 victory against the United States in their opening group game.
• Defeats by Ghana and Italy, both 2-0, in their remaining games meant the Czechs, who suffered several injuries in Germany, were eliminated in the opening stage.
How did they perform in UEFA EURO 2004™?
• Eliminated at the semi-final stage of the competition by eventual winners, Greece. The only goal of the game after 105 minutes from Greek defender Traianos Dellas, a silver goal which gave the Czechs virtually no time to muster a response.
• Earlier in the competition, the Czechs accounted for Denmark (3-0) in the quarter-finals after earlier winning all of their three engagements in the group stage against Latvia (2-1), the Netherlands (3-2) and Germany (2-1).
• They topped their group in qualifying round action with seven wins and a draw from eight matches to finish three points clear of the Netherlands with Austria a further ten points in arrears in third position.
• All four home matches ended in victory by an aggregate margin of 14 goals scored with only one conceded. Away from home, the Czechs dropped their only points of the campaign in Rotterdam when they shared a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands.
What is their best performance in the UEFA European Championship?
• The golden goal made its debut in senior international competition at UEFA EURO '96™ and accounted for the Czech Republic in the final of the tournament when Oliver Bierhoff scored the winning goal five minutes into extra time after the sides remained deadlocked at 1-1 after 90 minutes. The Czechs had earlier defeated France and Portugal in the knockout phase of the competition after finishing second to Germany in the group stage at the expense of Italy and Russia.
• As part of the former state of Czechoslovakia, Czech players were involved in winning the 1976 UEFA European Championship against the Federal Republic of Germany. The final ended in a 2-2 stalemate in Belgrade before the Czechoslovak side won 5-3 on penalties with Antonín Panenka cheekily chipping in the final spot-kick for Václav Ježek's side.
Key facts
• Although Pauleta ended up as the highest scorer in the European zone of the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying round competition with eleven goals, Czech Republic striker Jan Koller was second on nine with Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden) and Aleksei Eremenko Jr. (Finland) a further goal behind.
All-time record
• Up until the end of UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying, the Czech Republic had played 54 matches in the UEFA European Championship, winning 39, drawing eight and losing seven. In that time, they scored 117 goals and conceded 37.
• From independence up until the end of UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying the Czechs' record in the qualifying round of the UEFA European Championship reads - won 25, drawn six and lost two.
• They secured their biggest victory in UEFA European Championship qualification by beating San Marino 7-0 in Liberec on 7 October 2006.
• The Czechs retain a 100 per cent qualification record for the UEFA European Championship finals with four appearances from four attempts.
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