The Czech Republic face a daunting trip to face Germany on Saturday night in World Cup qualifying. The visitors will need to up their game from recent performances or they could be badly embarrassed in Hamburg.
The Czech’s have won just one of their last six international outings, which was a 3-0 friendly win over Armenia. However, Karel Jarolim’s side started their World Cup qualifying campaign with a disappointing 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland.
With only group winners heading automatically through to the finals, the Czech Republic will be desperate to seal a best runners-up spot. Germany are obvious favourites to top the group, while Jarolim’s side will be regarded as favourites to finish in the runners-up spot.
Their most likely rivals currently seem to be Northern Ireland, so the Czech Republic cannot afford any big defeats that will impact on the team’s morale or goal difference.
Germany opened their qualifying campaign with a 3-0 victory in Norway. Die Mannschaft are 24 games unbeaten in World Cup qualifying. Their last qualifying defeat came back in 2001 when England famously won 5-1 in Munich.
The world champions have been prolific in recent World Cup qualifying campaigns as well, scoring three or more in their last nine World Cup qualifiers. That record does not bode well for the visitors, who have not exactly been in great form of late.
It seems highly unlikely that the Czech Republic will get anything from their trip to Hamburg. However, just to make the score respectable Jarolim’s team needs to up their game from recent outings.
Germany have not been at their sparkling best in recent games. However, they are a machine when it comes to qualifying for major tournaments, especially the World Cup. If Germany hit form and the visitors fail to turn up it could be a very long night for the Czech players and fans.