Czechs under pressure after loss to Poland

The Czech football team is under increasing pressure after a 2-1 away loss to Poland on Saturday, staying fourth with a single point from two games in its qualifying group for the 2010 World Cup.

“We failed. The loss is unpleasant. We thought it would be different, because we didn't want to lose points here,” Czech head coach Petr Rada said after the match.

Before the game, Czech media were pinning hopes on the fact that many Poles are sidelined in their clubs. But on Saturday, even the substitutes were too good for the Czechs.

The Czech side started well and created a few scoring chances before Pawel Brozek scored for the Poles 27 minutes into the game with a low shot from outside the box.

“When you are playing against a team of similar qualities, you can't expect to create fifteen scoring chances. We had two at the beginning and didn't make it,” said Czech captain Tomas Ujfalusi.

Eight minutes after halftime, Jakub Blaszczykowski put the home side 2-0 ahead after chipping the ball over Czech keeper Petr Cech.

“We froze after the second goal. Our response came too late,” said Rada. Substitute Martin Fenin scored with a header from a Vaclav Sverkos cross in the 87th minute to give the guest side a flicker of hope that was quick to fade.

Throughout the game, the Poles were much stronger in midfield than the Czech side plagued by injuries that ruled out Tomas Rosicky, Marek Matejovsky and Jan Polak.

The Czechs ended up with three defenders – Radoslav Kovac, Radek Sirl and Zdenek Pospech – in midfield, which just was not enough to outplay the creative Poles.

“It's true that our strikers didn't get many balls they could use,” said midfielder Jaroslav Plasil. “I'm certainly not happy with the way I played.”

The Czech Republic are fourth in Group Three with a single point from two games, trailing Slovakia in third by five points and the joint group leaders, Poland and Slovenia, by six.

The top three sides have played a game more.

“It was only our second game, we must not panic,” said Ujfalusi. The three teams up front have all played three games.

The Czechs take on Slovenia at home on October 15. “This is a game we have to win. If we want some peace, there is no other option but three points,” said Petr Cech.