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1. Peter Cech fails to keep check, yet again!
Adjudged as one of the best goalkeepers in the world today, Peter Cech faltered yet again, allowing Greece to score an easy goal. Czech Republic were crusing to an easy victory against Greece before Cech made an inexplicable error, letting the ball slip through his grasp after colliding with team-mate Tomas Sivok. Cech is not infallible anymore, but he needs to be in form when Czech face Poland, for that would be one crucial game.
2. Greece make decent comebacks
Despite the fact that Greece don’t have much to offer, either in their attack or defensively, they surely can play well in the second half of the match. This was evident against Poland as well, where the Greeks showed plenty of resilience to draw level with the co-hosts despite being down to ten men. Greece surprised many when they won the Euros in 2004, and they do have the potential to cause an upset this time around as well.
3. Czech Republic has the potential to progress
Their final game is against Poland, and while Poland does seem to be the favorites to win, don’t expect anything less from Czech. Poland drew last night against Russia, and will definitely be looking to win this game. But there is a possibility that Czech will sneak through, with Rosicky playing an important role.
4. Why Tomas Rosicky is important to Czech Republic?
The Czech captain and Arsenal man didn’t come out to play the second half because of an injury. However, if Czech are looking to win the game against Poland, they need Rosicky fit and playing the entire 90 minutes. His absenteeism from the Czech midfield caused a major shift in possession and domination—something that the Czechs cannot afford when playing co-hosts Poland in their next game.
5. Subs are very important to Greece
In the second half of the game, Fanis Gekas was brought on for Giorgos Fotakis and made maximum use of the howler by Peter Cech and scored. A half-time sub did the job for Greece in their last game, when Dimitris Salpigidis equalized for Greece by knocking in a loose ball in the 51st minute. Would the outcome had been any different had both these players started the game? You’ll only have to watch Greece vs. Russia to know that.
