Czech Republic World Cup Information

Before World War I, Bohemia (present–day Czech Republic), whilst part of Austria–Hungary, played seven matches between 1903 and 1908, six of them against Hungary and one against England. Bohemia also played a match against Yugoslavia, Ostmark and Germany in 1939 while being the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

When the Czech Republic was part of Czechoslovakia, the national team had runner–up finishes in World Cups (1934, 1962) and a European Championship win in 1976.

When Czechoslovakia split and reformed into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Czech Republic national team was formed, and they played their first friendly match away to Turkey, loosing 4–1, on 23 February 1994. The newly formed team played their first home game, in Ostrava, against Lithuania, in which they registered their first win, a 5–3 victory.

Their first competitive match was part of the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying campaign, in which they defeated Malta 6–1 in Ostrava. During the campaign, the Czech Republic registered six wins, three draws, and a solitary defeat, finishing their qualifying group 5 in first place, above favorites The Netherlands. In the final tournament, hosted by England. The Czechs progressed from the group stage, despite a 2–0 opening game defeat to Germany. They continued their good form, and progressed to the UEFA Euro 1996 final where they lost 2–1 to the Germans at Wembley Stadium.

Given their success at Euro '96, the Czechs were expected to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, however, finished third in their group behind Spain, and Yugoslavia, and subsequently failed to qualify.

They did, however qualify for Euro 2000, winning all 10 of their group games, conceding just five goals. The team failed to perform well at the finals though, producing just one win, and being eliminated in the group stage.

Once again, the Czech Republic failed to qualify for the World Cup, this time finishing second in their group, behind Denmark, and then being beaten 1–0, and 0–1 by Belgium in the UEFA play–offs for a place in the finals.

They progressed to the finals of Euro 2004, qualifying through their group ahead of The Netherlands, and their only dropped points being in a 1–1 draw away to Holland. In the finals, the Czechs progressed to the semi–finals, where they were beaten 1–0 by the eventual champions Greece

The Czechs finally qualified for a FIFA World Cup, qualifying for the 2006 edition in Germany, via a play–off against Norway, winning both legs 1–0. They seemed set to progress to the last 16, with a 3–0 win over the USA, however, 2–0 defeats to Ghana, and Italy promptly ended their hopes of progression.

The disappointing World Cup campaign was followed by a successful qualifying campaign for Euro 2008, where they finished top of their group, above Germany on head–to–head records. The Czechs beat co–hosts Switzerland 1–0 in their opening game, before being beaten 3–1 by Portugal, this meant that they, and Turkey carried identical records going into the final group game, the Czechs took a 2–0 lead just past the hour mark, they looked set to qualify, before a stunning late Turkish comeback, and the Czechs lost 2–3, and that signaled the end of another disappointing performance at a major tournament.