Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Czech Republic and Albania square off against each other at epet ARENA in what is expected to be one of the most exciting games of Friday’s program. Czech Republic did well to bounce back from a heavy 4-1 loss to Georgia, with the team beating Ukraine 3-2 in their second group game, but they do not want to stop now. A man to watch in the home team will be Rangers winger Vaclav Cerny, who scored a brace for the Gers in a 2-0 win over St Johnstone at the weekend.
The Albanians, meanwhile, aim to recover from a 1-0 loss to Georgia, but seeing that Czech Republic are a real force to be reckoned with at home, we do not believe that Sylvinho’s men are capable of grabbing something from the match. Last time out Albania rolled over Czech Republic 3-0, meaning that the hosts are hungry for revenge. Granada forward Myrto Uzuni is one yellow card away from suspension.
Highlighted Team (Czech Republic):
Czech Republic national team is the natural successor of the Czechoslovakia side that dominated world football during the 20th century, winning one European Championship trophy and coming second at 1934 and 1962 World Cups. After the separation of the country in 1992, Czech Republic continued the proud tradition by qualifying for each of the next six European Championship finals, losing to Germany in the final of the 1996 tournament.
The Czechs also reached the last eight at the 2012 finals, but their World Cup record of late is pretty disappointing. Since separating from Slovakia, Czech Republic only qualified for one of five World Cup finals. The 1996 generation, featuring players like Pavel Nedved, Karel Poborsky and Patrik Berger, will forever remained etched in the fans’ memory, while the likes of Milan Baros, Jan Koller, Petr Cech and Tomas Rosicky are some of the other notable footballers.
Highly rated goalkeeper Petr Cech is the team’s most capped player, whereas towering forward Jan Koller tops the goalscoring charts with 55 strikes in 91 games.