Czechs progress to last four
cctv.com 07-08-2004 14:29
Two second-half goals from Milan Baroš and a header from Jan Koller proved too much for Denmark and powered the Czech Republic into the semi-finals of UEFA EURO 2004™, where they will meet Greece on Thursday.
Simple finish
A scoreless and tense first half did not set the tone for the deluge of goals that followed, but Koller set the Czechs on their way four minutes into the second period when he rose unchallenged to head Karel Poborský's corner past Thomas Sørensen in the Danish goal.
Clinical counterattacking
Denmark, now forced into committing more resources into attack, were caught out twice in defence as the Czechs ruthlessly exploited their lapses in concentration. First Poborský curled a low pass through to Baroš who then clipped the ball over the diving Sørensen after 63 minutes. Two minutes later, the Czechs ended the game as a contest as Baroš ran on to Pavel Nedved's through-pass to drill the ball past Sørensen for his fifth goal in four games, making the Liverpool FC striker the tournament's top scorer. Baroš has scored in every game Karel Br眉ckner's side have played.
Sand setback
Danish coach Morten Olsen made three changes to the side that drew 2-2 with Sweden. Niclas Jensen, already ruled out having been forced off by an ankle injury against the Swedes, was again replaced by Kasper Bøgelund. Ebbe Sand's calf injury meant that Jon Dahl Tomasson moved into a more attacking role with Claus Jensen entrusted with playmaking responsibilities from midfield, while Olsen brought in Christian Poulsen to man-mark Nedved at the expense of Daniel Jensen.
Wholesale changes
Br眉ckner, who effectively fielded a reserve side in the final Group D game with Germany, made wholesale changes, with only Martin Jir谩nek, Ren茅 Bolf and Tom谩š Gal谩sek keeping their places in the starting lineup.
Bright start
The Czechs, who had won eight consecutive matches in the competition, started brightly and Sørensen was forced into action as early as the third minute when he dived low to his left to gather a Nedved free-kick.
Czech chance
Baroš might have done better two minutes later when Tom谩š Rosický headed the ball into his path inside the penalty area from another Nedved free-kick. Koller then got in on the act, but his header from Poborský's right-wing cross sailed over, before Gal谩sek shot narrowly wide of Sørensen's right-hand post with a low drive from 20 metres.
Poulsen frustrated
However, Denmark were not being overrun and responded with two genuine scoring opportunities of their own. First Jensen passed to Poulsen inside the penalty area, and he sidestepped Gal谩sek's sliding challenge only to see his shot blocked by Tom谩š Ujfaluši. The same pair combined moments later, but this time Poulsen's header from 15 metres was narrowly wide of Petr Cech's right-hand post from Jensen's free-kick.
Midfield stalemate
The match settled into a midfield stalemate until Poborský burst clear down the right-hand channel in added time at the end of the first half. With Koller in the centre, the midfield player opted to go himself but his cross-shot swung out of play before clipping the crossbar.
Tomasson close
Having scored quickly after the restart, the Czechs forced the Danes to become more attack-minded, and Olsen's side were almost rewarded in the 53rd minute, but Tomasson's header was blocked by Marek Jankulovski following some trickery by Martin Jørgensen inside the penalty area.
Danes denied
Czech substitute Zdenek Grygera then blocked Jørgensen's shot on the edge of the penalty area in the 58th minute as the Czechs managed to keep the Danes at bay before Baroš' double strike put the result beyond doubt.
Source: Official Website of Euro 2004
Editor:Wang Ping Source:
