MATCH 16 PREVIEW : CZECHS LOOK TO CASH IN AGAIN

Previous meeting
When the two teams met in Prague in September, goals from Jan Koller, Karel Poborský and Milan Baroš gave the Czechs a 3-1 win and sealed automatic qualification for Portugal, condemning the Dutch to the vagaries of the play-offs.

Šmicer option
All three of their goalscorers that night are likely to feature this time around too, although the attacking potential of the Dutch, compared to the Czech Republic's first opponents Latvia, means that coach Karel Brückner will probably restrict striker Baroš to a place on the bench, in favour of his Liverpool FC team-mate Vladimír Šmicer.

Midfield menŠmicer is likely to take his place on the left of a five-man midfield, but with only AFC Ajax's Tomáš Galásek a recognised holding player it can hardly be described as a defensive lineup. With Pavel Nedved, the reigning European Footballer of the Year, Tomáš Rosický, perhaps a future winner of that award, and the evergreen Poborský there will be plenty for the Dutch rearguard to ponder.

Goals needed
One area of concern for the Czechs is the fact that Koller, likely to play up front on his own, has failed to score in any of their warm-up matches since qualification was achieved, and if they do struggle Baroš will almost certainly come on, either instead of, or alongside the lofty Koller.

Czech Republic (probable): Cech; Grygera, Ujfaluši, Rozehnal, Jankulovski; Poborský, Rosický, Galásek, Nedved, Šmicer; Koller.

Netherlands (possible):Van der Sar; Heitinga, Cocu, Stam, Van Bronckhorst; Bosvelt, Seedorf, Davids; Van der Meyde, Van Nistelrooij, Robben.

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