The very mention of the Czech Republic brings a worried reaction from many football fans. They have a reputation as a formidable, well-organised and talented team, although that was built by their form during the 90s and the previous decade.
The truth is, the Czechs are a nation very much in a transitional period. Their golden generation of players that got them to the 2006 World Cup and the semi finals of Euro 2004 have now hung up their boots. Vladimir Smicer, Karel Poborsky, Patrick Berger, Jan Koller and Pavel Nedved all retired from the international scene, leaving a gaping hole filled by a batch of young players who are plying their trade at various mid-ranking European sides.
They still have top players, Chelsea ‘keeper Petr Cech, Arsenal’s Tomas Rosicky and Galatasaray’s Milan Baros for example, but they aren’t the same team that were frequently ranked in the top five teams in the world by Fifa.
Tomas Necid of CSKA Moscow provides their main goal threat and at 20 years old he has a lot of developing yet to do. From midfield, Bordeaux’s Jaroslav Plasil pulls the strings, Anderlecht’s Jan Polak is the box-to-box player, while at the back, David Rozenhal is their stalwart and Juventus’ Zdenek Grygera is a key figure at right back, provided he is fit.
The Czechs' key problem during their last qualification campaign was losing key men to injury at crucial times. Rosicky has only just returned to action after a long lay off but remains susceptible. Baros has also missed out when badly needed and Radoslav Kovac, at West Ham, has quit the international scene altogether to prolong his club career.
There is little doubting the potential of the current crop but their recent form should offer Scotland fans hope. They failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, finishing third in a group that Slovakia and Slovenia qualified from. They drew 0-0 home and away with Northern Ireland and managed just one win on their travels, a 2-1 win in Poland.
Scotland and the Czech Republic right now are similar in their abilities and will be the two teams battling it out for that play-off spot in behind Spain, who you would expect to romp the group. Results between the two nations will go a long way to determining who comes in second, unless either can achieve an unexpected result against the Spanish or comes unstuck against Lithuania or Liechtenstein.
Realistically, both should be aiming for 12 points against the lesser two countries meaning that whoever wins in Glasgow and Prague will be in pole position to make the playoffs. The Czechs' strength lies in defence and a counter attacking punch and Craig Levein will have to set out his team’s stall accordingly.
Both sides, of course, will get the measure of each other in a friendly at Hampden in March that was arranged long before Sunday's draw. It will provide a useful test to both to gauge what each other are all about and adds another edge to proceedings knowing that both will face up against each other before qualification gets underway.
