Nedved gets serious

Tournament starts now
"The group games are forgotten, the tournament starts now and one false step could send us home," said captain Pavel Nedved. The Juventus FC midfield player rates tomorow's quarter-final opponents Denmark highly. "Their defence is more compact than ours and it's no easy task to get past it," he said. "My Italian team-mates from Juventus have told me much about them."

Three survivors
Nedved is one of the three surviving members of the Czech squad that reached the EURO '96™ final and he is anxious for another crack at the title. "This could be my last big tournament and I am still not ready to go home," said the 31-year-old. He intends to continue playing for his country until the 2006 FIFA World Cup but admitted: "Who knows what can happen. I am only focused on the next game right now."

Koller thoughts
For the majority of the Czech squad, Sunday's game is the most important of their careers. "No doubt about it, it's bigger than the UEFA Cup final with [BV] Borussia Dortmund," said striker Jan Koller. "My personal aim was to advance from the group stage. I want to go further now. As far as possible."

Chess game
Although they have impressed with their attacking skills so far, it could be a more circumspect Czech side tomorrow. "It's all or nothing so don't expect an attacking avalanche," said midfield player Tomáš Rosický. "It will be a chess game more than anything else. One mistake could decide the game." Having rested several players in their last group game against Germany, the Czechs are feeling sharp, though. "We are well rested. The tiredness has gone," Rosický added.

Penalty practice
In training, coach Karel Brückner has been making his charges practice their penalty-taking skills and if it comes down to a shoot-out, the Czechs have reason to be confident - they beat France on spot-kicks in the EURO '96™ semi-final, while goalkeeper Petr Cech kept out three penalties in the final of the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Nevertheless, Nedved is keen to avoid such a lottery. "I hope we settle it earlier than that," he said.