Czechs pull off 'small miracle', move to Nations League Group A with victory over Slovakia

The Czech Republic Men’s National Football team secured promotion from their Nations League group after beating Slovakia 2-0 at Plzen’s Doosan Arena.

West Ham United midfielder Tomáš Souček and Viktoria Plzeň forward Zdeněk Ondrášek scored for the home side to secure victory and top position in Group B2.

The team needed a win and required Scotland to draw or lose away to Israel to secure top spot, with the Scots losing 1-0.

Coach Jaroslav Šilhavý called the result a “small miracle” after Covid-19 forced the Czech Republic to field a weaker team against Scotland early on in the group stage, a game they lost 2-1 in Olomouc.

He said: "Is it a small miracle? Exactly. What we went through this fall was unbelievable. Even after all the vicissitudes we've had at each meeting, we've made progress."

Winning the group means that should the Czech Republic fail to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar they could enter a play-off tournament and get a second opportunity to do so.

Promotion means they will be placed in Group A for the next Nations League tournament and could face countries such as Belgium, France or England.

It’s been a good week for the Czech Republic football team at the expense of Scotland, with their under-21 team also securing top spot in their group at the expense of their Scottish counterparts, qualifying for the U21 European Championships next year.

The two teams will meet in Glasgow at Euro 2020 next summer after Scotland beat Serbia on penalties last month.