For the Czech Republic, this match is like a final. If they lose, excelling at Euro 2012 will become a dead dream. For the Greeks, Tuesday night’s game against the wounded Czechs is a great opportunity to avoid being in a tough position ahead of their last group game against Russia.
After missing a golden chance to give Greece a vital win on Day 1, skipper Giorgos Karagounis will try to lead his team to victory against the Czech Republic. The Greeks have at least a point while the Czechs have none.
The latter have a foot out of UEFA Euro 2012. A second loss and they will wave goodbye. Will Champions League winner Petr Cech and his team mates recover from their appalling display against Russia?
Spotlight on Dimitris Salpingidis and Kostas Chalkias
Striker Salpingidis is in hot form. Against Poland, he capitalized on a goalkeeping error to score Greece’s equalizer. He also won the penalty that Giorgos Karagounis eventually missed. Salpingidis netted a potential match winner for the Greeks but the linesman and the referee ruled the goal for offside.
This is a player whom coach Fernando Santos must carefully use at the benefit of Greece’s Euro 2012 chances. The Czech Republic may create a special plan to contain Dimitris Salpingidis on Tuesday night. The latter cannot afford to get injured.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the field, the oldest goalkeeper of the tournament will try to keep a clean sheet. 38-year-old Kostas Chalkias could help the Greeks overcome their head-to-head disadvantage against the Czechs whom they have beaten only once in seven matches.
However, in that unique victory which occurred in the Euro 2004 semi-finals, Greece can find immense confidence. The Czechs must recover from their biggest defeat at a major tournament since the 1970 World Cup when they lost 4-1 to Brazil.
Vaclav Pilar: the key for the Czechs
Against Russia in the opening match of their UEFA Euro 2012 campaign, the Czechs got it all wrong. Daring to attack Dick Adovcaat’s Russians proved to be a terrible idea.
The Czechs did score a goal through Vaclav Pilar, though. The young midfielder was his team’s best player against Russia. He got the Czech Republic on the path of a comeback only for everything to collapse again in the final 20 minutes of the match.
Michel Bilak must make good tactical plans to build a connection between Vaclav Pilar and the rest of the team. Such a plan could save the Czech Republic from suffering a first-round exit at UEFA Euro 2012.
