Czechs eye World Cup liftoff against South Africa

Czech Republic captain Ladislav Krejci said Thursday’s showdown with South Africa will determine the World Cup fate of both teams after they lost in the opening round.

South Africa ended with nine men in a 2-0 loss to co-hosts Mexico, while the Czechs were beaten 2-1 by South Korea despite Krejci opening the scoring.

Just one win could be enough to squeeze into the round of 32 with eight of the best third-placed sides from the 12 groups progressing to the knockout stages.

“We are aware of how important this match is going to be. It’s extremely important,” said Wolves defender Krejci.

“We’ll do our best to win the match and we are well aware of how important it is for the rest of the tournament.”

The Czechs are playing on the world stage for the first time in 20 years, but lack the star quality of previous generations when the likes of Petr Cech, Pavel Nedved and Tomas Rosicky played at top European clubs.

Coach Miroslav Koubek is hoping a positive showing at the World Cup can provide the inspiration to make Czech Republic a force to be reckoned with again in the coming years.

“We wish to have all starting 11 in the top five European leagues, but that is not possible. It just shows what the development (of players) is like,” said Koubek.

“I believe that the World Cup still gives us a chance. Even though we lost the first match, we still have a good chance to turn around our fortunes.

“If we do well at the World Cup, it will certainly be a source of inspiration and incentive for young players, because our players are role models.”