Seeking to maintain their lead at the top of European Championship qualifying Group E, the Czech Republic meet the Faroe Islands in Torshavn on Saturday.

After slipping up with a draw in Moldova, the Czechs are keen to avoid another failure against one of Europe's minnows, as they ultimately try to secure top spot ahead of group favourites Poland.

Match preview

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Having kicked off their attempt at reaching the Euro 2024 finals by beating Poland 3-1 on home soil, the Czech Republic were then unable to capitalise on such a bright start when they could not find a way past an obdurate Moldova side in Chisinau.

Nonetheless, with four points taken from a possible six during the spring international period, Jaroslav Silhavy's men are leading the pack in Group E before their third fixture takes place this weekend.

Though they made the quarter-finals of the delayed 2020 event, making a seventh European finals appearance in a row, the Czechs came into the current qualification campaign under some pressure following a weak Nations League showing and their failure to reach the World Cup.

Four straight defeats to finish their Nations League group - while scoring just one goal in the process - came on the back of losing to Sweden in the playoffs for Qatar 2022, so Silhavy must surely steer his team to Germany or face the inevitable consequences.

The nation now recognised as Czechia by FIFA will certainly expect to seal progress in the end, as the top two in each group are guaranteed a spot at next year's finals.

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Given their diminutive stature in European football, it is no surprise that the Faroe Islands sit 87 places below their Czech counterparts in the FIFA World rankings ahead of the teams' clash at Torsvollur Stadium.

Nonetheless, Hakan Ericson's side came through their opening Euro 2024 qualifying fixture without suffering defeat, after holding Moldova to a 1-1 draw back in March, when only conceding a late penalty deprived them of all three points.

Though they then lost a subsequent friendly to North Macedonia, the Faroes have been beaten just three times in their last 12 outings, including a famous Nations League victory over Turkey in September of last year.

Even with those unexpected points in their pocket, Ericson's men could only finish third in League C Group 1, shortly after concluding a qualifying campaign for Qatar which brought just one win and seven goals from 10 games.

Naturally, a nation of fewer than 60,000 people has never reached a major international finals before and is unlikely to do so in the future, but causing another upset this weekend would definitely put more smiles on faces in Torshavn.

Team News

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In his squad for fixtures against both the Faroe Islands and Turkey, Czech Republic coach Jaroslav Silhavy has stuck with the tried and tested - naming several integral figures in the team that made the last eight of Euro 2020.

West Ham United midfielder Tomas Soucek, who recently won his third Czech Golden Ball Award, will captain the side at Torsvollur, having pipped Fiorentina midfielder Antonin Barak to the prize by just a point in the voting.

Fellow Europa Conference League finalist Vladimir Coufal should join both in the starting lineup, but star striker Patrik Schick will again miss out due to injury; another Bundesliga-based forward, Adam Hlozek, could start up front instead.

Meanwhile, even if the Faroese squad now boasts numerous full-time professionals playing in mid-ranking European leagues - a far cry from the 1990s, when the team was entirely made up of amateurs - they still have far less experience to call upon than their opponents.

Ahead of Saturday's contest and next Tuesday's visit from Albania, a selection led by 10-goal top scorer Klaemint Olsen has been summoned by Swedish coach Hakan Ericson.

At the other end of the age scale, Sligo Rovers forward Stefan Radosavljevic is in line for a fourth senior cap, having made his debut in a 5-0 friendly loss to the Czech Republic in November of last year.

Faroe Islands possible starting lineup:
Lamhauge; Joensen, G. Vatnhamar, Faero, Davidsen; Mikkelsen, Andreasen, S. Vatnhamar, M. Olsen; Radosavljevic, K. Olsen

Czech Republic possible starting lineup:
Pavlenka; Holes, Brabec, Krejci; Coufal, Barak, Soucek, Cerny; Cvancara, Hlozek, Kuchta

We say: Faroe Islands 0-1 Czech Republic

After stuttering in Moldova, a trip to Torshavn could now be fraught with danger for a workmanlike Czech Republic side. Their hosts certainly have nothing to lose, but even home advantage is not likely to bridge the gap in terms of quality.


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Written by
Jonathan O'Shea

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