Most people have Russia down as favourites of this group, so in turn they will want to recreate or better their semifinal result of four years ago.
Russia's manager Dick Advocaat has announced that he would be leaving the Russian bench after the summer.Russia's ace is Arsenal forward Andrei Arshavin.
Some people argue that he won't be much of a threat, he's not the same he was four years ago, but let's not forget Arshavin can appear at any moment and wreak havoc on their opposing team.
Czech Republic also went out in the semifinals in the last European Championship, which has been their third best outcome (Winners in 1976 and runners-up in 1996).
After days of doubt, manager Michal Bilek had some good news, he will be able to count on Tomas Rosicky after there was doubts as to whether he would start today due to a muscle injury he suffered in the last game of the Premier League in May.
Milan Baros was also in doubt whether he would play today after not completing training last Tuesday, but in the end it seems he has overcome his abductor muscle problem.
Petr Cech has reached the tournament in really good form, having come from winning both the FA Cup and the Champions League final with Chelsea, he is hoping to perform better than the last European Championship, which saw his side lose a 2-0 advantage in the last stages of the match.
Russia vs Czech Republic 19:45pm
Live text commentary Russia v Czech Republic
Source: DSG
