Czechia has a rich history in the European Championships. Their success in 1976 was decided by a penalty shootout, where Antonin Panenka's chip down the middle was the winning penalty, and the creation of the ‘Panenka’ we know today. Euro 2020 saw Patrick Schick finishing the tournament with five goals, which was the joint most, including an audacious halfway line goal against Scotland. This time around they head into the tournament with players playing at the highest of levels. Schick, Matej Kovar, and Adam Hlozek were all part of the treble winning Bayer Leverkusen side, so are not used to losing football matches.

49.7 - Patrik Schick's second goal (49.7 yards) is the furthest distance from which a goal has been scored on record at the European Championships (since 1980). Ridiculous.#Euro2020 #CZE #SCOCZE pic.twitter.com/imssf0WAxj

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 14, 2021

Squad

Goalkeepers: Jindrich Stanek (Slavia Prague), Vitezslav Jaros (Sturm Graz), Matej Kovar (Bayer Leverkusen)

Defenders: Vladimir Coufal (West Ham United), Tomas Holes (Slavia Prague), David Zima (Slavia Prague), Ladislav Krejci (Sparta Prague), David Jurasek (Hoffenheim), Robin Hranac (Viktoria Plzen), Tomas Vlcek (Slavia Prague), Martin Vitík (Sparta Prague)

Midfielders: Tomas Soucek (West Ham), Antonin Barak (Fiorentina), David Doudera (Slavia Prague), Michal Sadilek (Twente), Lukas Provod (Slavia Prague), Vaclav Cerny (VfL Wolfsburg), Ondrej Lingr (Feyenoord), Marej Jurasek (Slavia Prague), Pavel Sulc (Viktoria Plzen), Lukas Cerv (Viktoria Plzen)

Forwards: Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen), Adam Hlozek (Bayer Leverkusen), Jan Kuchta (Sparta Prague), Mojmir Chytil (Slavia Prague), Tomas Chory (Viktoria Plzen)

🇨🇿 #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/R3C2jUU7lP

— Czech Football National Team (@ceskarepre_eng) June 5, 2024

Star Player

This Czech squad is filled with talent. West Ham duo Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal will be crucial to the way Czech Republic play; however, Schick is still their key man up top.

Schick lost out on a regular starting position for invincible Bayer Leverkusen this season, however still managed to register seven goals in just twelve starts. He has struggled with injuries over the last few seasons, and did not feature in a single one of the qualifiers for Euro 2024.

Schick will be vital in ensuring the Czech Republic have a good tournament, and will be looking to add to his tally of five goals in European Championship matches.

5 - Patrik Schick is now the joint-highest goalscorer at #EURO2020, moving level with Cristiano Ronaldo on five goals. Famous. #CZEDEN

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 3, 2021

Previous Euro’s performance

The Czech Republic managed to sneak through the groups, back in 2021, in third place behind Croatia and England. They impressively beat Netherlands 2-0 in the Round of 16, before falling short in the Quarter-Finals against Denmark, losing 2-1.

Prediction for Euro 2024

The Czech Republic will hope to qualify in the top two this summer, however the knockout will prove to be difficult. I expect them to finish second in the group and reach the knockout.

Emulating the side of 2021 and reaching the quarter finals is not impossible, however I predict they will fall at the first hurdle in the knockouts and be eliminated in the Round of 16.

Fixtures

Tuesday 18th June (20:00 BST) Portugal vs Czech Republic; Saturday 22nd June (14:00 BST) Georgia vs Czech Republic; Wednesday 26th June (20:00 BST) Czech Republic vs Turkey.