EURO 2016 TEAM PREVIEW: GROUP D - CZECH REPUBLIC

Tip: Early exit

Cult hero: Little Mozart aka Tomas Rosicky is well known to English fans for keeping Jack Wilshere company on the Arsenal treatment table rather than carving up Premier League defences. The Czechs, though, hold him dear even if his old partner in crime Jan Koller has retired to the land of giants.

Star player: Petr Cech may be 34 years of age and getting ready for a bus pass in France, however much like his club Arsenal he is still crucial to the Czech cause. They topped Group A, but they shipped 14 goals in the process with Cech’s shot stopping now needed to make it out of a tricky group behind a porous defence.

Player to watch: Midfielder Jiri Skalak is a class act, no two ways about it, nevertheless Pavel Kaderabek is the player that could emerge this tournament as someone for Czech fans and neutrals to get excited about. The Hoffenheim right-back can tank it up and down his flank all day long to supply the likes of Tomas Necid, but he needs to focus on his defensive duties as well to truly be a hit.

How they qualified: The opening 2-1 victory over Holland in Prague set the tone for the Czech Group A stroll, their more illustrious opponents that night imploding throughout their campaign. Defeats by Iceland and Turkey set their nerves on edge, but their final 3-2 Dutch win sealed top spot for them.

Line-up prediction: Cech, Kaderabek, Sivok, M Kadlec, Limbersky, Darida, Plasil, Dockal, Rosicky, Krejci, Necid