Friday Jun 16 2006 11:48
Czech Republic continue their bid to fulfil their potential with a meeting against World Cup finals debutants Ghana in Cologne.
Karel Bruckner's side opened with an impressive 3-0 dismissal of the United States, but they saw key striker Jan Koller pick up an injury that will keep him sidelined until the latter stages of the competition.
Koller has a hamstring problem, while Milan Baros is also absent due to a foot injury that refuses to go away, leaving Bruckner short of options up front.
Baros had seemed set to be ruled out of the whole tournament, but the Czechs have denied that he will be sent home, although they did confirm that the Aston Villa striker needs a minor miracle to feature at all.
Bruckner admitted: "We're not going to have the ideal line-up, but there is strength in the team."
A lot of that strength lies in midfield, with veteran Pavel Nedved still a top-class performer and Tomas Rosicky having netted twice against the USA to prove that Arsenal have acquired a world-class playmaker.
Ghana may have lost their opening game 2-0 to Italy, but coach Ratomir Dujkovic is still sky-high on confidence in his side.
He said: "I think we will play much better and score goals against the Czech Republic.
"I still believe and am confident that we can pass the group stage and get to the semi-final."
Dujkovic has no notable injury problems to contend with, but he may change his strikeforce after Matthew Amoah and Asamoah Gyan struggled against the Azzurri.
Skipper Stephen Appiah also struck a positive note, adding: "Okay, we have lost the first game but a lot of teams have done that.
"It doesn't mean we still cannot go a long way in the competition. We will not give up.
"We will fight right until the very end because we need to keep African football at the forefront of everyone's mind."
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