Goalkeeper Petr Cech insisted that the Czech Republic are not taking Malta lightly, saying the performances and results achieved in this World Cup qualifying campaign underline the progress made by our national team in recent years.
“The level of the national team of Malta is improving every year,” Cech said ahead of this evening’s qualifier at the National Stadium.
“They are getting better in every qualifying campaign and their results in the past were not as good as those of the present.
“In home games, you (Malta) have lost by only one goal whether it was Italy, Bulgaria or Denmark.
“We know that it’s going to be very difficult here. Malta play with a lot of confidence at home. We have to be well-prepared for this game.”
Although the Czech Republic’s qualifying chances are very remote, Cech said it was important for them to win their game against Malta.
“It’s important to win our last two games to give ourselves a boost ahead of the European qualifiers but also for our own pride and prestige,” the Chelsea stalwart said.
“Our chances of qualifying for the World Cup are small but six points from our last two games would help.”
Although Group B is widely regarded as one of the strongest in this World Cup qualifying campaign, the Czechs were still fancied to challenge strongly for a top-two finish but, with only two games remaining, they are fourth, four points off second spot currently occupied by Bulgaria.
Cech believes the Czechs have been undone by their profligacy in front of goal in a number of key qualifiers.
“I believe the difference (between us and the other teams) is the efficiency of our attack,” the straight-talking Cech remarked.
“We had many scoring chances, especially in our home qualifiers against Italy and Bulgaria but we drew both games 0-0. We dropped four points in those two games.
“Even in our last home game against Armenia, we lost 2-1 despite having lot of possession and scoring chances.
“We lost seven points... had we gained those points, we would have been second and probably qualified already.”
Cech is clearly well-informed about Malta as he got all the facts right when fielding a question about Michael Mifsud who is set to play his 100th game for the national team this evening.
“Mifsud is Malta’s best player and best scorer,” Cech, himself capped 103 times by the Czech Republic, said.
“When Malta counter-attack, he makes the difference as he keeps running and chasing the ball.
“He (Mifsud) is the player who has scored most goals in the history of Malta. His move to Melbourne is a reward for a player who keeps scoring goals. And to reach 100 caps is a big thing for him.”
For today’ qualifier, the Czechs have six players missing.
Theodor Gebre Selassie and Libor Kozak are suspended while Tomas Rosicky, Vladimir Darida, David Limbersky and Matej Vydra are injured.