Czech footballers enter next year’s European Championship in Germany with a match against 2016 continental champions Portugal, who are played by star striker Cristiano Ronaldo. The other opponents in Group F will be Turkey and the winner of March play-off C, which will be Georgia, Luxembourg, Greece or Kazakhstan.
Hamburg
19:11 2. 12. 2023 (Updated: 19:26 2/12/2023)
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Czech footballers will face Portugal, Turkey and the winner of the play-off at the Euros (illustrative photo) | Photo: David W Černý, FilePhoto | Source: Reuters
The composition of the groups was decided by Saturday’s draw in Hamburg, one of the ten cities where the final tournament will visit. The Czech national team will start on June 18 against Portugal in Leipzig, and they will play the next two matches against the play-off winner and Turkey in Hamburg.
For the national team, two-thirds of the group has the same form as in 2008, when the Czech team did not advance in competition with Portugal, Turkey and home Switzerland. Tomáš Rosický, the former captain of the national team, took part in the draw.
As in the previous year, 24 countries will participate in the final tournament, which has been divided by lot into six groups of four. The first two teams from each group and the best four teams from third place advance to the knockout stage. The European Championship will begin on June 14 and culminate a month later with the final duel in Berlin.
It’s drawn! This is how our basic group for EURO 2024 looks like! ⚽ The fourth team in our basic group will be the winning team from play-off C.
❓
— Czech national football team (@ceskarepre_cz) December 2, 2023
The national team did not have a coach in the draw, despite successful qualification and promotion from second place in the group behind Albania, coach Jaroslav Šilhavý decided not to continue with the team. His contract officially expired on Thursday. The management of the Football Association is now looking for his successor.
Since the division of the federation, the Czech team has advanced from all European qualifiers and will play in the continental championship for the eighth time in a row. At the championship the year before last, he surprisingly reached the quarter-finals, his maximum in individual history is the silver from 1996. The gold from the last championship is defended by Italy.
UEFA placed the national teams in baskets according to the results in the qualification, and the Czech team narrowly maintained its position in third place. The representatives were sure to avoid former federal partners Slovakia, the Netherlands, Croatia, Scotland and Slovenia. The Czechs finished last in the draw for the third basket, and Rosický drew their name into Group F.
The last time the national team played with Portugal was last year in the elite group A of the League of Nations and scored two defeats 0:2 away and 0:4 at home. The teams will meet at the big event for the first time since 2012, when the favorites from the Iberian Peninsula won 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the Euros in Poland thanks to Ronaldo’s goal.
The Czech national team has lost four times in a row against Portugal, and has suffered a defeat against Turkey in its last three matches. Last year in November, Šilhavé’s selection lost 1:2 in Gaziantep. At Euro 2016, the Czechs lost to the Turks in the group 0:2.
FAČR will receive a premium of 9.25 million euros (225 million crowns) just for the participation of the national team in the EC.
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2023-12-02 18:11:00
#Los #Euros #Czechs #face #Portugal #Turkey #playoff #winner #play #Leipzig #Hamburg
