Outright Odds: 33/1
Group E Winners: 9/4
The Czech Republic may be ranked by FIFA as the second best team in the world behind Brazil and the best in Europe but they made hard work of qualifying for the finals. Pitted against Holland in qualifying, they lost home and away and also suffered defeat in Romania to finish second in the group. They won both home and away 1-0 against Norway in the play-offs to secure their place in Germany.
Despite a nervous qualification, expectations are high this time around for the Czechs first appearance in the finals since they entered as Czechoslovakia in 1990. The side have not been out of FIFAs top six since 2004 and can no longer be dubbed underdogs or outsiders. Under their old guise they twice finished runners-up in both 1934 and 1962 and they have the ability to go one better this time around.
For many of the current squad, its now or never, as the attacking force of Tomas Galasek, Karel Poborsky, Jan Koller and Pavel Nedved, back out of retirement, are all entering the veteran stage of their careers. All made their mark a decade ago as the Czech Republic surprised everyone by reaching the final of Euro 96 and...
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