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Football goalkeeper Petr Čech proves key in the Czechs’ draw against Peru in the Kirin Cup; Liechtenstein upset Lithuania in Euro 2012 qualifying to boost the Czech Republic’s own tournament chances; Viktoria Žižkov is promoted to the top flight, joining four other Prague clubs; tennis legends Mečíř, Novotná edge Lendl, Mandlíková in mixed-doubles in Prague; hockey goalie Hašek takes time off to hit the singletrack but plans to return in 2012/2013 season.

The Czech national football team defeated Liechtenstein in their 2012 European Championship qualifier on Tuesday. Striker Milan Baroš put the Czechs ahead early in České Budějovice and Milan Kadlec scored in the second half to secure the team’s 2:0 win. Afterwards team coach Michal Bílek was less than satisfied with the team’s performance against football minnows Liechtenstein. He said that although the Czechs had started well and had had opportunities throughout the game (two crossbars in addition to scoring) overall the team had been sluggish and had allowed too many chances at the back. The Czech Republic is second in Group I on nine points, followed by Scotland with five, They will be hoping to qualify from second position or in a preliminary playoff round as Spain at the top of the group are unbeaten so far. Euro qualifying for the team resumes in September.

The Czech national football squad defeated Liechtenstein in their 2012 European Championship qualifier on Tuesday, a win that was seen as obligatory against the football minnows. Striker Milan Baroš and Michal Kadlec both scored to secure the team’s 2:0 win. Despite the success, the squad’s play, especially in the second half, was less than scintillating and many are critical the Czechs will have to improve significantly in September if they want to get to the final competition. Earlier I spoke to sports journalist Karel Haring and asked him for

In Sports News: Spain buries Czech Republic in final minutes of Euro football qualifier; Vítkovice reach the hockey finals, will Slavia follow suit?; the Florida Panthers are out of playoff contention in NHL leaving goalie Vokoun free to play for the Czechs.

The Czech national football team lost to Spain in a EURO 2012 qualifying game in Granada on Friday. Sensationally, the Czechs went ahead in the 29th minute after Jaroslav Plašil’s amazing long-range shot. But the hosts immediately put the Czech team under great pressure and although goalie Petr Čech showed some exceptional saves, David Villa equalized in the 69th minute. Four minutes later, Czech Republic’s Jan Rezek fell Andres Iniesta in the box, and David Villa netted the penalty to set the score at 2:1. The Czech Republic now ranks second in the I qualifying group, six points behind Spain and two points ahead of Scotland. The Czechs will next play Liechtenstein on Tuesday.

In Sports News: The Extraliga hockey semi-finals get underway between Vítkovice and Pardubice; in football, Plzeň and Sparta come away with wins, leaving the top of the table unchanged; the Czech national squad readies for a key match against Spain in Euro qualifying; and Abraham finishes 13th in his MotoGP debut.

It was billed as a preparatory game for the big one against world and European champions Spain in just over a month, but this was the sort of preparation that the Czech football team could have done without. They went down 2:4 in a friendly against Croatia with the home side putting a record tally of goals into the Czech net.

The Czech football manager Michal Bílek has given first call-ups to Jan Rezek of Viktoria Plzeň and Michal Hubník of Sigma Olomouc for a friendly against Denmark in a week’s time. However, 18-year-old Václav Kadlec of Sparta Prague, who scored on his full international debut last month, will join the Czech Under 21s during the upcoming international break. The Czech Republic are second in their qualifying group to reach Euro 2012, behind reigning champions Spain.

The Czech Republic’s footballers eased to a 2:0 away victory over tiny Liechtenstein on Tuesday night, notching up their second win in Euro 2012 qualifiers in five days. Tomáš Necid found the net for the visitors after 12 minutes, before 18-year-old debutant Václav Kadlec added a second just before the half hour mark, becoming the youngest player ever to score for the Czech Republic. The Czechs are now second in Group I behind Spain, who they visit in their next European Championship qualifier in March.

The Czech national football team secured a comfortable win over Liechtenstein on Tuesday to keep its campaign for the European Championship, to be held in Poland and Ukraine in 2012, on track. The win saw goals from up-and-coming talent; nevertheless, some on the team are ruing the fact that the Czechs could have even been further ahead in their group.