England v Czech Republic: Previous
by David Barber
Sunday, 19 June, 2011
England’s U21s meet their Czech counterparts for the fifth time on Sunday.
Get the latest from the England camp by 'liking'
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or follow @thefadotcom on TwitterEngland’s Under-21s will meet their Czech Republic counterparts for the fifth time on Sunday night.
There was a 1-1 draw during the Toulon Tournament in 1993, a 1-0 win for Czech Republic in a Portman Road friendly in 1998, a 0-0 draw at the Group Stage during Euro 2007 and a 2-0 England win in a friendly at Bramall Lane in 2008.
Lawrie McMenemy was in charge when England took to the field against the Czechs in their second match of the Toulon Tournament in Saint Cyr. We had already beaten Portugal 2-0 and a Mike Sheron header on 33 minutes looked good enough to secure a place in the semis until some defensive confusion allowed Novotny to level eight minutes from time.
Peter Taylor’s Under-21s warmed up for their next batch of UEFA Championship qualifiers with a friendly against the Czechs at Ipswich. ‘Warmed up’ was probably not the right expression in the freezing conditions on that November night. The accomplished visitors counter-attacked at speed and could have scored two or three before Dosek struck decisively on 41 minutes.
Stuart Pearce was at the helm as our Under-21s started the Euro 2007 Finals with a ‘Group B’ fixture against Czech Republic in the Dutch town of Arnhem.
It wasn’t quite the sparkling match that the build-up had promised but England were thrown a glorious chance to take all three points with a penalty for handball on 88 minutes. But Leroy Lita shot wide from the spot and it finished 0-0.
Pearce gave debuts to eight players when England last faced the Czechs before an 18,000 crowd at Bramall Lane three years ago. After a quiet opening, with no chances at either end, the Czech defence allowed Joe Lewis’s huge kick to bounce and Fraizer Campbell lifted the ball precisely over ‘keeper Divis. Craig Gardner’s free-kick made it 2-0 before Jamie O’Hara’s penalty was saved.
The record is: P4, W1, D2, L1, F3 A2
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