Coach: Karel Bruckner
Tactics: Expansive, flamboyant with the emphasis on attack.
Star Player: Pavel Nedved - returned from retirement for the play-offs and made the difference.
Verdict: A team no-one wants to face. A dangerous floater who could make the last four. In Nedved, Milan Baros and Tomas Rosicky, the Czechs possess the talent to trouble any opponent. Their attacking style sometimes leaves them open at the back meaning Fiorentina defender Tomas Ujfalusi is key.
Ten things you didn’t know about the Czech Republic
1. Czech Republic’s Independence Day is: 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia).
2. Wenceslas is the patron saint of the Czech Republic. At the beginning of the tenth century, Wenceslas was murdered by his brother, Boleslav.
3. Karel Capek, a famous early twentieth century Czech playwright, introduced the word "robot" to the English language. It was used in his play "R.U.R" (Rossum's Universal Robots). The word for robot comes from the Czech word "robota" which means servitude.
4. The Czech Republic has pushed back its target date for when it plans to adopt the euro to 2010. Its currency now is the koruna.
5. The sugar cube was invented in the Czech town Dacice in 1843.
6. The Prague Castle is the largest castle area in the world. Its three courtyards and a number of magnificent buildings cover over 7 hectares (18 acres).
7. The word "Czech" is an adjective and therefore should not be used as the abbreviated name of the country.
8. The Czechs are the number 1 beer drinking nation in the world, consuming the most beer per capita in the world (160 liters or 43 gallons). They have been drinking beer since at least 900 A.D.
9. Sigmund Freud was born and spent the first years of his life in what is now the Czech Republic.
10. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the prehistoric settlement of Dolní Vestonice in Southern Moravia is the oldest town in the world. It dates back to 27,000 BC, the Ice Age.
