Belarus and Czech Republic bid for Olympic spot

Belarus coach Georgi Kondratyev has called for one final push from his players when they take on the Czech Republic in Aalborg on Saturday for Europe's fourth and final spot at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Fortune may have been on their side when they advanced from Group A by the narrowest margin in the competition's history, but it deserted Belarus late in their semi-final against Spain when they conceded an 89th-minute equaliser and two further goals in extra time.

Kondratyev was keen to "forget the dramatic loss" and instead accentuate the positives of a breakthrough campaign for Belarus. "We're not totally a football country, so it's obviously a major success already," he said. "Against Spain my lads were firing on all cylinders and did everything they could to reach the final, sparing no effort."

Belarus have claimed ten gold medals at summer Olympics but have never competed in the football tournament. "Because we've never been in it, I'm absolutely sure that the players will be fighting and giving their all tomorrow until the very last minute – it's a very important tournament for us," added the coach.

The Czechs competed as an independent nation in Sydney in 2000 having previously enjoyed success as part of the former Czechoslovakia, following up a silver medal in 1964 with gold in 1980. "Before we arrived in Denmark our goal was to qualify for the 2012 Olympics," said coach Jakub Dovalil.

"We've played 14 games to get this far and we have one chance left to achieve our ambition. If we win we will be satisfied with what we have accomplished." Dovalil was far from satisfied after the semi-final loss, however, and vowed to make "around three changes" for the Belarus game.

He added: "We have studied our display against Switzerland for a long time and I still can't understand our weak performance. That hurts me, because I know the lads can play much better. On the other hand, that's the beauty of football: you can build something up for two years, everything seems perfect, and then after two bad matches, everything's over."

Yet all is not lost for Dovalil's side. "Although our attacking play and passing has not been as good as we had hoped, we are a small country and I hope that after the tournament has ended the fans will forget their disappointment and see it as a success," he said. "We can still fulfil our dream of reaching the Olympics. It's a huge challenge for our players to win this last match."

Tomáš Pekhart had to ice a dead leg sustained against Switzerland but should be at Dovalil's disposal. Only Mikhail Gordeychuk, yet to play a minute in Denmark because of injury, is unavailable for Kondratyev, who is gearing up for a testing 90 minutes. "Physically, the Czech Republic are a strong side," he said. "It will be hard to cope with them, particularly from set plays. If we can cope with that, then we should have a chance of succeeding."