Group D Czech Republic v Latvia Aveiro MunicipalOn all known form, the Czech Republic should get their Euro 2004 campaign off to a winning start against tournament debutants Latvia in Aveiro this evening. Notwithstanding Greece's surprise 2-1 defeat of Portugal in the opening game, another giant-killing act is not on the cards.
The Czechs deservedly start these finals, if not on the front row of the grid, at least on the second row. They have an experienced squad that combines overall strength with genuine, class players including above all European Player of the Year Pavel Nedved. Furthermore, a qualifying group record of seven wins, one draw (away to Holland), and no defeats, with 23 goals scored and five conceded, speaks for itself.
As for little Latvia, one has to imagine the De Coubertin principle (just taking part) must apply. With a total pool of just 100 professional players, this little country (2.8 million population) has already pulled off a miracle merely by qualifying.
For those who stubbornly insist on supporting the underdog, and they do not get much more "underdog" than Latvia at these championships, there are few crumbs of comfort. Certainly, the pressure will all be on the Czechs in a game where Nedved and his men will be on a hiding to nothing, expected to win comfortably and with authority.
Latvian coach Aleksandrs Starkovs, a man who scored more than 100 goals in the old Soviet league where he played for Dinamo Moscow, has been making the right noises, saying yesterday: "I would just like to remind you that we got here by beating Turkey, a semi-finalist at the last World Cup, in a play-off. If we can do that, why shouldn't we hope to pull off another major surprise at the expense of one of the favourites?"
Hope may spring eternal but probably not against a side that contains Chelsea's new €9 million goalkeeper Petr Cech, Udinese's outstanding midfielder-cum-left back Marek Jankulovski, Ajax Amsterdam midfielder Tomas Galasek, evergreen Sparta Prague winger Karel Poborsky, tricky little Borussia Dortmund schemer Tomas Rosicky, Liverpool striker Milan Baros and Borussia Dortmund central target man Jan Koller, not to mention Nedved, of course.
Keep an eye on Latvian striker Maris Verpakovskis of Dinamo Kiev, scorer of winners against Sweden in the qualifying group and Turkey in the play-off. Good luck to Latvia.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
CZECH REPUBLIC: Cech; Grygera, Bolf, Ujfalusi, Jankulovski; Galasek; Poborsky, Rosicky, Nedved; Baros, Koller.
LATVIA: Kolinko; Isakov, Zemlinskis, Stepanovs, Blagonadezdins; Bleidelis, Lobanevs, Astafjevs, Rubins; Prohorenkovs, Verpakovskis.
