Czech Republic coach Michal Bilek on Monday announced a provisional 24-man squad for the upcoming Euro 2012 championships, with Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky and Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech the stand-out stars.
"We have nominated 24 players for the camp, including four goalkeepers," said Bilek, who has until May 29 to name the final team.
The team comprises eight players from the Czech league, including defender Theodor Gebre Selassie from Liberec who lifted the Czech trophy on Saturday, and five from Viktoria Plzen, the 2011 title-winners who played the Champions League this year.
The Czechs leave for their camp in Austria on May 20, and will face Israel in a friendly there before taking on Hungary back home in Prague on June 1.
Bilek had said that he would only name 23 players for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine to prevent tensions within the squad.
But he has asked FK Teplice keeper Tomas Grigar to travel to Austria with the team, as Cech will be available only after Saturday's Champions League final and Hamburg keeper Jaroslav Drobny is struggling with illness.
The Czech Republic, in their fifth straight European championships, face Russia on June 8, Greece on June 12 and Poland on June 16 in Group A, in the southern Polish city of Wroclaw near the Czech border.
Goalkeepers: Petr Cech (Chelsea/ENG), Jan Lastuvka (Dnepropetrovsk/UKR), Jaroslav Drobny (Hamburg/GER), Tomas Grigar (Teplice)
Defenders: Frantisek Rajtoral (Plzen), Roman Hubnik (Hertha/GER), Tomas Sivok (Besiktas/TUR), Michal Kadlec (Leverkusen/GER), Daniel Pudil (Cesena/ITA), Theodor Gebre Selassie (Liberec), David Limbersky (Plzen), Marek Suchy (Spartak Moscow/RUS)
Midfielders: Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal/ENG), Jaroslav Plasil (Bordeaux/FRA), Jan Rezek (Famagusta/CYP), Daniel Kolar (Plzen), Petr Jiracek (Wolfsburg/GER), Milan Petrzela (Plzen), Vaclav Pilar (Plzen), Tomas Hubschman (Donetsk/UKR)
Forwards: Milan Baros (Galatasaray/TUR), David Lafata (Jablonec), Tomas Pekhart (Nuremberg/GER), Tomas Necid (CSKA Moscow/RUS)
Source: AFP
