CZECH REPUBLIC

Two previous Blogs involving the Czech Republic, a landlocked country!!
https://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.com/2017/05/a-successful-english-eam-welsh-manager.html
https://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.com/2019/09/kosovo-watch-out-for-blackbird-fields.html

Today, Gareth's boys are on show and he may well be blooding a few new faces, as England take on the Czech Republic at the Sinobo Stadium, Prague. The two countries have met only 3 times. The first in 1998 in a friendly winning 2-0; they played again in 2008 2-2 and most recently in the Uefa Championship on March 22nd 2019 winning 5-0 at home. But there is more.......

The country was known as Bohemia and played under that flag from 1901. England met Bohemia on tour to Eastern Europe in 1908 (other countries played were: Hungary and Austria).  Prior to that England only played Wales, Scotland and Ireland from 1882 and prior to that just Scotland and Wales from 1879 and just Scotland from 1872, the first international EVER.
 England team in 1908 with referee John Lewis (far right back) who was "attacked" by locals after the game for giving England a penalty!

The state of Bohemia was later known as Czechia and then Czechoslovakia following the settling of nation states, after the First World War. In 1993, the Czech Republic became a new nation when the country was separated peacefully from Slovakia on January 1st and played its first international under its new name in 1996.

England have played against "Czech" sides from 1934 losing 1-2 in Prague, on May 16 on a tour of the Eastern European nations. The captain was Tommy Cooper, which may explain a bit? and there was also a Horace and an Ernest playing alongside legends such as Cliff Bastin and Eddie Hapgood. By the way, the Czechs got to the 1934 World Cup final losing to Italy.

After this tour the ex-England captain Charles Wreford Brown (an Old Carthusian), who was in charge of the tour party noted that England would need to examine their failings and improve their attitude to the game. Clearly England was falling behind the rest of Europe, even at this early stage.

The two countries met again in 1937, England winning 5-4 at White Hart Lane. Unusually, Stanley Matthews scored a hat trick; he was always known as a supplier!
The next meeting was 1963 on tour England winning 4-2 in Bratislava (Jimmy Greaves scored 2). The two played a 0-0 friendly in 1966 and then met in the Mexico World Cup (1970) England winning 1-0.
Further matches have taken place in 1973 1-1, 1974 Euro Champs 3-0 and 1975 0-1 agg win for England, 1978 1-0 win, 1982 Spain's World Cup 2-0 win 4-2 win 1990, 1992 2-2 away under Graham Taylor 6,000 watched. Population of the country 10.6 m
1992 team: Seaman , Pearce  (c), Keown, Walker, Mabbutt, Clough, Merson, Platt, Rocastle, Barnes, Hatley, sub: Dixon, Stewart, Dorigo, Lineker.

The famous Petr Cech has won 124 caps and the country is ranked 22 in FIFA rankings,

Matches against Slovakia date from 2002 and England have won 5 and drawn 1 out of 6 meets.