Northern Ireland v Czech Republic

Petr Cech

2002-2016

124 caps, conceded 73 goals, 37 clean sheets

Most capped player in Czech history and rated one

of the best goalkeepers in the world. Played a vital

role in Chelsea’s ‘golden era’ under Jose Mourinho.

The 6ft 5ins keeper was voted Czech Footballer of

the Year nine times. Retired from the national team

after Euro 2016.

Cech played against Northern Ireland on four

occasions, in two U21 Euros qualifiers and in both

WC 2010 qualifiers.

In 2004-05 he set a Premier League record of not

conceding a goal for 1025 minutes. At Chelsea he

won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, one

World Club Cup title, a Europa League title and one

Champions League title. With Arsenal he won the

FA Cup in 2016-17.

Jan Koller

1999-2009, 91 caps, 55 goals

The 6ft 8ins striker was a superb header of the

ball and also possessed a strong shot. He tops the

all-time top scorer charts for the Czech Republic

national team. Also enjoyed a successful career at

club level, especially with Anderlecht, where he won

the Belgian League championship twice (2000 and

2001), and with Borussia Dortmund with whom he

won the Bundesliga in 2002.

Koller twice played against Northern Ireland - in WC

2002 qualifiers.

Pavel Nedved

1991-2006, 91 caps, 18 goals

A gifted, hard working two-footed midfielder with

a never-say-die spirit, Nedved won respect as

one of the best foreign players in the history of

Serie A when he played for Lazio (1996-2001) and

Juventus (2001-2009).

The 5ft 10ins dynamo was a key member of the

Czech team which reached the final of Euro 1996

and captained the national team at Euro 2004,

where they were defeated in the semi-final by

eventual champions Greece. He won the Cup

Winners’ Cup, Serie A and Italian Cup with Lazio

and two Serie A titles with Juventus. He played

against Northern Ireland in the qualifiers for WC

2002, scoring the only goal of the game in Belfast,

and in the return in Teplice (3-1).

Karel Poborsky

1994-2006, 118 caps, 8 goals

Winger with all the skills who scored clever

goals. Key player for the Czech team which reached

Euro 1996 in England where he played in all the

games as the Czechs reached the final where they

lost in extra time to Germany. Scored a memorable

winning goal in the quarter-final against Portugal

(1-0), coolly lobbing the ball over the head of the

keeper. And ‘Poborsky's Lob’ was judged the most

beautiful goal in the tournament.

Won the Premier League title in 1997 with

Manchester United. Played in both 2002 WC

qualifiers against Northern Ireland.

Tomas Rosicky

2000-2016, 105 caps, 23 goals

Superbly gifted midfield playmaker who, after five

years with Borussia Dortmund, joined Arsenal in

2006 and returned to the Czech Republic in 2016

after injury problems limited his appearances.

In Germany his ability to control and orchestrate

play earned him the nickname The Little Mozart,

while Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger praised his

“special talent".

At Euro 2016 Rosicky became the oldest player

to represent Czech Republic in a European

Championship Finals at the age of 35. He also

holds the record for being the youngest player to

have done so, having played at Euro 2000 as a

19-year-old.

Played against Northern Ireland in the WC 2010

qualifier in Prague (0-0).

Milan Baros

2000-2012, 93 caps, 41 goals

Milan Baros's best individual achievement

was finishing top scorer at Euro 2004. In the

tournament he scored five goals and helped his

country reach the semi-finals. Throughout his

career Baros had great goal scoring instincts. He

was also quite successful at club level. He won a

Champions League, an FA Cup, a Ligue 1 title and a

Turkish League title.

Played against Northern Ireland in both WC 2010

qualifiers, and also in two Euro U21 qualifiers in

2001.

Pavel Nedved