Czech & Cech, both wary of penalties

“It’s better than a toss of a coin,” Cech said of penalties. “We have it all in our hands. I believe that penalties won’t have to take place at all and we’ll beat Turkey. It would be a tricky thing to play for a draw. Everything is at stake.

“I’m an optimist and believe we belong to the best eight teams. The team’s performance is on the rise and we’ll play our best in our last game in the group stage.”

The Czechs have had a positive record in penalty shootouts at previous European Championships. As part of Czechoslovakia, they won the 1976 title on penalties after drawing 2-2 with Germany, and did the same in the third-place match against Italy four years later following a 1-1 draw.

At Euro 96, the Czechs eliminated France in the semi-finals in a shootout before losing the final to Germany. “We’ll be training for a possible penalty shootout, but that’s not our major concern,” coach Karel Bruckner said. “Our goal is to play well and win.”

The Czechs beat Switzerland 1-0 in its Euro 2008 opener before losing 3-1 to Portugal, while Turkey lost 2-0 to the Portuguese and then rallied to win 2-1 over the Swiss.

Czech Republic captain Tomas Ujfalusi agreed that his team should defeat the Turks. “This team is strong enough to beat Turkey,” he said. “We had been fighting for two years to qualify for the Euro. We just can’t go home after the group phase. I can’t accept that we wouldn’t make (the quarterfinals). We have to trust in our abilities and play our best.”

The Czechs, which reached the Euro 2004 semi-finals, lost a decisive, final group match to eventual champion Italy at the 2006 World Cup.