Schick bucks trend in draft Czech Republic squad
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Article summary
Young forward Patrick Schick is the only unexpected name in the first-draft Czech Republic squad for the finals, with Tomáš Rosický fit and available once more.
Article top media content
Article body
Uncapped at senior level, Czech Republic Under-21 forward Patrick Schick is the only surprise inclusion in Pavel Vrba's 28-strong provisional squad for UEFA EURO 2016.
The 52-year-old has pledged to remove one full-back and a few attacking players when he makes his final 23-man cut "at the end of the week before we leave for our training camp in Austria".
Tomáš Rosický is back in the squad after recovering from injury, and Vrba is continuing to monitor the recently-recovered Josef Šural, David Pavelka, Milan Škoda and Roman Hubník, as well as Bořek Dočkal – who is training alone but should be fully fit by next week.
There is no place in the lineup for Ajax prospect – and former UEFA.com weekly wonderkid – Václav Černý, though Vrba had plenty of encouragement for the 18-year-old. "He is a very talented player who needs more time in senior football," the coach explained. "His time in the national team is definitely coming."
Schick, 20, gets a nod after a fine season on loan from Sparta at Bohemians Praha, with Vrba eager to gather all of his players around him. "I am looking forward to having the team together for three weeks during which we will have time to tune things up and find the right starting XI," he concluded.
Provisional Czech Republic squad for UEFA EURO 2016
Goalkeepers: Petr Čech (Arsenal), Tomáš Vaclík (Basel), Tomáš Koubek (Slovan Liberec).
Defenders: Theodor Gebre Selassie (Werder Bremen), Roman Hubník (Viktoria Plzeň), Pavel Kadeřábek (Hoffenheim), Michal Kadlec (Fenerbahçe), David Limberský (Viktoria Plzeň), Daniel Pudil (Sheffield Wednesday), Marek Suchý (Basel), Tomáš Sivok (Bursaspor), Ondřej Zahustel (Sparta Praha).
Midfielders: Vladimír Darida (Hertha Berlin), Bořek Dočkal (Sparta Praha), Daniel Kolář (Viktoria Plzeň), Jan Kovařík (Viktoria Plzeň), Ladislav Krejčí (Sparta Praha), Lukáš Mareček (Sparta Praha), David Pavelka (Kasımpaşa), Jaroslav Plašil (Bordeaux), Tomáš Rosický (Arsenal), Jiří Skalák (Brighton), Josef Šural (Sparta Praha).
Forwards: David Lafata (Sparta Praha), Tomáš Necid (Bursaspor), Patrik Schick (Sparta Praha), Milan Škoda (Slavia Praha), Matěj Vydra (Reading).
Czech Republic's Group D fixtures
13/06: Spain v Czech Republic (Toulouse)
17/06: Czech Republic v Croatia (St-Etienne)
21/06: Czech Republic v Turkey (Lens)