Czech Republic EURO 2020 Preview - History and Expectations

Published on 29 Feb 2020 | Last updated on 01 Jul 2026 | Reading time: 5 minutes

The Czech Republic is not among the biggest forces in football at the national level in Europe. At the end of the 20th century, the country had an incredible generation, as well as at the beginning of the 21st century, but at the moment the team does not have such big stars. The Czech Republic will rely heavily on the team game to perform at Euro 2020, as they are in a tough group with teams like England and Croatia. Their main goal will be 2nd place in the final standings.

Check out our preview of the Czech Republic at the 2020 European Championships and what we can expect from their team.

Czech Republic European Championships - History and successes

After gaining independence in the mid-1990s, the Czech Republic qualified for all six championships and will now compete in the finals for the seventh time. The Czech Republic reached the final of Euro 96 in its first participation, but lost to Germany, then having a star team with the participation of Pavel Nedved, Patrick Berger, and Karel Poborski. Then, at Euro 2004, after having players like Peter Cech, Jan Kohler, Milan Baros, and Tomasz Rosicki, they were defeated in the semi-finals. The Czechs have never come so close to the trophy, but they will hope to do well in 2021 and at least get out of their group - something they failed to do at Euro 2016 when they left the tournament without a win. Here is the place to mention, that as former Czechoslovakia, the team won the gold medals in 1976 in Yugoslavia, and the bronze medals four years later in Italy. 

The Road to Euro 2020

The Czechs finished comfortably as the second-best team in their qualifying group, and although they finished six points behind the leader - England, they defeated the Three Lions in Prague. The Czechs lost three matches, although one was on the last day after they had already secured a ranking, and this defeat was 0:1 by Bulgaria in Sofia. Although the coronavirus hit their camp hard, the Czech Republic did well in their last matches in 2020. They lost to Scotland but won their remaining four League of Nations games to finish at the top of their group and get a promotion to Group A for the next edition of the competition.

Euro 2020 fixtures

Czech Republic is in Group D of Euro 2020 with the teams of England, Croatia, and Scotland.

• June 14, 3:00 pm: Czech Republic - Scotland / Hampden Park, Glasgow /
• June 18, 6:00 pm: Croatia - Czech Republic / Hampden Park, Glasgow /
• June 22, 9:00 pm: Czech Republic - England / Wembley Stadium, London /

Czech squad for the European Football Championship 2020

The Czech Republic plays standard in a 4-2-3-1 scheme with an organized defense unit that can both sit deep and press depending on the scenario. Tomas Kalas and Vladimir Coufal will be key figures in the team's defense, with Tomasz Vaklik as a goalkeeper. Tomasz Sucek and Alex Kral have a midfield, and Sucek's air dominance makes him a real threat in the opponent's field. The Czech wings (usually Lukas Masopust and Jakub Jankto) have a lot of speed and can create chances to hit. Vladimir Darida is a captain and maestro in the midfield in the role of number 1 - he is always able to make an accurate pass or make a goal shot. In attack, the Czechs will rely on Zdenek Ondrasek or, more likely, if he is able, on Patrik Schick.

Goalkeepers: Tomas Vaclik (Sevilla), Ales Mandous (Sigma Olomouc), Jiri Pavlenka (Werder Bremen)
Defenders: David Zima (Slavia Prague), Vladimir Coufal (West Ham United), Ales Mateju (Brescia), Jan Boril (Slavia Prague), Pavel Kaderabek (Hoffenheim), Ondrej Celustka (Sparta Prague), Tomáš Kalas (Bristol City), Jakub Brabec (Viktoria Plzeň)
Midfielders: Antonin Barak (Hellas Verona), Tomas Holes (Slavia Prague), Vladimir Darida (Hertha Berlin), Lukas Masopust (Slavia Prague), Alex Král (Spartak Moskva), Petr Ševčík (Slavia Praha), Jakub Jankto (Sampdoria), Tomas Soucek (West Ham United), Adam Hložek (Sparta Prague), Jakub Pesek (Slovan Liberec), Michal Sadílek (Liberec)
Forwards: Michael Krmencik (PAOK), Matej Vydra (Burnley), Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen), Tomas Pekhart (Legia Warsaw)

Source: www.talksport.com

The Big Star: Tomas Soucek

"Czech Fellaini" is probably not a nickname you ever thought you would hear, but the strong Tomas Soucek suits it perfectly. Soucek was named Player of the Year when he won the Czech title with Slavia Prague in the 2018/19 season. The giant midfielder was hired by West Ham in early 2020, made great performances for the "hammers" and in the next transfer window was bought by the team from the Premier League. Tomas Soucek will play a very important role for the Czech Republic at Euro 2020. He will be the key man in the middle of the field for the Czechs and the results of the Czech team will largely depend on his performance.

Expectations for the Czech Republic at Euro 2020

The Czech Republic is in a very difficult group in the European finals and will be a success if they go into the phase of direct eliminations. The Czech team will once again compete with England and certainly winning a point in the match can play a key role in continuing to the next phase. The real test for Jaroslav Silhavy's selection will be against Croatia, and if they want to move on, the Czechs must win against Scotland. In our opinion, however, the Czech Republic may not continue into the next stage of Euro 2020.

Odds for the Czech Republic

As we already mentioned a couple of times, Czech Republic is in not an easy group. This is our personal view, but maybe the bookmakers are thinking the same way. They are giving a very low probability to win the group and go through the 1/8 finals. Czechs are also out of the top favorites for winning the European title in 2020. Here are the current odds for Jaroslav Silhavy's selection:

To win Euro 2020	151.00
To win Group D	13.00