Czechia 2008-09 Home, matchworn Jan Blazek v England U21, 2008 U21 friendly
Czechia 2014-15 Home
Let’s kick things off with a very plain design. Thin, blue sleeves cuffs and collar add a splash of colour to a shirt that’s otherwise basically just red mesh. There are slight stripes of a different shade where the panels are heat-bonded together but the design is basic indeed. The old Puma numberset definitely adds a little, with the sort of pixelated fade-away adding a nice sense of definition to them. Additionally, the Czech coat of arms is superbly detailed and adds some much needed colour.
This design saw use across the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, where the Czech’s were drawn in a finely balanced group with Slovakia, Slovenia, Northern Ireland, Poland and San Marino. They dropped points at home in a 2-1 loss to Slovakia and a 0-0 draw with Nortehrn Ireland but their away form sank them, gaining just 6 points on the road, losing to Poland, beating San Marino and drawing the other 3 games. They finished 3rd in the group, only a point ahead of Northern Ireland and 4 points behind Slovenia. Considering the Slovenians went on to qualify they might consider that a slight disappointment.
Next up we have this slightly more imaginative design, though the replacement of the coat of arms with just the Bohemian Lion crest is a definite downgrade. This time we’ve got blue sections all over, helping to break up the monotony somewhat, though the lines on the front are just beyond strange. Just in case you missed the crest though, there’s a giant Bohemian lion across the front of the shirt, kicking the shirt up from ok to cool.
The Czechs were much less forgettable in this shirt, winning Group A of the Euro 2016 qualifiers at the death. Grouped with Iceland, Turkey, Netherlands, Kazakhstan and Latvia they were expected to have a hard time but rose to the occasion magnificently. Opening out with 4 wins from 4 they stumbled at home to Latvia (1-1) and Turkey (0-2) but beat the Netherlands home and away and only lost away to Iceland, who lost their last game to help the Czechs claim the crown.
These results are fairly typical of the men’s team, who regularly qualify for the Euros (last did not in 1992 as Czerchoslovakia) but struggle a little more in the actual tournaments and tend not to qualify for the World Cup (only appearance in 2006 as Czech Republic). Their history is fairly deep though, when they do well they do really well! As Czechoslovakia they didn’t enter two World Cups and qualified for 8 of the 13 they did enter, coming runners-up in 1934 and 1962! In the Euros they managed 3 appearances as Czechoslovakia, with two 3rd places and the 1976 title (with some bloke called Panenka inventing a new type of penalty to win it, you may have heard of him). As the Czech Republic they still came 2nd in 1996 and reached the semi-finals in 2004 but otherwise have mainly been in the Group Stages, with 2012 and 2020 providing quarter-finals exits. In other tournaments they managed 3rd at the 1997 Confederations Cup and, in the Nations League, initially held position in League B before getting promoted in the 2nd season.
On the women’s side the Czechs can’t boast the same sort of history, having never qualified for a major tournament, but they’ve come close a number of teams and are a team that have will punish any slip-ups. They’ve reached 4 qualifying play-offs but lost them all to date. Initially pushed down into Class B for the qualifiers for 1997-2001 they did well enough to move into Class A for 2005 and 2007, before the system was removed. Since then they’ve always been in 2nd or 3rd in their qualifying groups, though sometimes well distant of the leaders. Expect to see them at a tournament soon enough though. Despite winning the Olympics in 1980 as Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic’s U23 side has only been to the 2000 Olympics, exiting at the Group stage, though the U21s have the 2002 U21 Euros title along with 2nd in 2000 and 4th in 2011. The U19s have 2 semi-finals and a final appearance to add to the pile, also grabbing 2nd in the 2007 U20 World Cup. The U17s can add another 2 finals but little progression in the corresponding World Cup. Adding in Czechoslovakia results only brings in 2 titles and finals from Euros too. The women’s youth team suffer from the same curse as the seniors, with the U17s making the 2016 and 2017 tournaments (the latter as hosts) but managing a solitary 0-0 draw with Italy. They’ve come bitterly close to other qualifications though, almost always making the elite round and once missing out on goals scored (by 2).
Czechia do play beach soccer, though they’ve always been fairly middling in UEFA. They’ve been in Division B more than Division A in the Euro Beach Soccer League (8 vs 5 seasons) and are mainly out in the first group stages of World cup qualifiers, though they’ve progressed a few times. Futsal has proven a little more successful for them, with the Euros bringing them two 3rd places and them attending 3 FIFA World Cups, with them qualifying from the group stages twice. They’ve never done as well in the AMF World Cup but do hold 2nd places in the 2018 Grand Prix de Futsal and the 2014 Confederations Cup. Not setting the world alight in either but certainly active. On the women’s side they qualified by default for both tournaments, though fell at the Group Stage in 2019. On the youth side they narrowly failed to qualify for the U19 tournament.
Drawn with Wales, Belgium, Belarus and Estonia in 2022 World Cup qualification, Czechia will be hopeful of a play-off spot at the end. Their opening has been slightly shaky, drawing 1-1 with Belgium and thrashing Estonia 6-2 but the 1-0 loss away in Wales may raise some concerns. It will be tricky, but they are capable of making it.
Adam's National Shirt Collection 