Kazakhstan v Czech Republic background
Monday, September 1, 2014
Article summary
Two players will be looking to celebrate their birthdays in style as the Czech Republic take on Kazakhstan in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group A.
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Article body
Fresh from an encounter with the Netherlands, Kazakhstan play host to one of the other top seeds in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group A as the Czech Republic make the long journey east.
Match background
• This is the nations' first meeting at senior level. They have met twice in UEFA age-group tournaments, the Czechs winning 3-0 (2009) and 2-0 (2012) at Under-17 level.
• Czech Republic midfielder Václav Pilař turns 26 on the day of the Kazakhstan match, with Kazakhstan defender Yermek Kuantayev turning 24 on the same day.
• The six meetings between the nations' clubs in UEFA competition have favoured the Czech sides, whose record is W3 D2 L1. Most recently, FC Slovan Liberec eliminated FC Shakhter Karagandy from the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, winning 1-0 at home and drawing 1-1 after extra time in Karaganda.
• Kazakhstan kicked off Group A with a 0-0 draw at home against Latvia but have won just once in their last seven competitive home games – 2-1 against the Faroe Islands in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying.
