EURO 2012: 6 Bold Predictions for Czech Republic's Tournament

With just a day until EURO 2012 kicks off, it's time to take out the crystal ball and make some predictions about what we will see in Poland and Ukraine.

Four years ago, the Czech Republic were eliminated from EURO 2008 in the most heartbreaking way possible; they allowed a 2-0 lead with 15 minutes to go against Turkey to turn into a 3-2 loss that saw them exit.

Since then, the Czechs have gone through a bit of a slump, failing to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and barely finding a way into the competition.

The Czech Republic will now love to be in the same position as the one they found themselves in during EURO 2008, but will have a hard time getting there.

Here are my forecasts for the fate of Czech Republic at EURO 2012.

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If there is one thing that this season's Champions League proved, it is that Petr Cech is one fantastic goalkeeper.

With almost any other keeper, Chelsea certainly would have been eliminated by Barcelona in the semi-finals; however, Cech allowed his team to park the bus to the extent that they did and succeed in the tie.

Then, in the finals, Cech pulled off similar heroics in leading his team past Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout.

Now, Cech must be considered along the same lines as Iker Casillas in the discussions of greatest keeper in the world.

Cech will be put into a position to once again prove his abilities at EURO 2012, as his side are not the strongest it has ever been.

Once again, he will rise to the occasion.

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In qualifying for EURO 2012, the Czech Republic conceded eight goals in eight matches; this gave them a goals against average of one goal per match, which is only better than Sweden and Portugal amongst sides that qualified.

Hence, expect there to be great pressure on the Czech goal.

I expect the pressure to overcome Petr Cech a few times and cause him to concede multiple times in the group stage.

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Petr Cech does indeed play well, and the match will be a hard-fought one for the first 70 minutes.

Then, late in the second half, Russia will finally find a breakthrough and go 1-0 up.

From there, the Czechs must find a way to put the ball in the net, and hence go forward; because of this, they will open themselves up in the back and Russia will findd another before the match is over.

It's won't be a great start to the tournament.

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This match is a strange one, as both sides will want to defend and counter-attack and hence are stuck in a stalemate.

After a half to forget, play will open up slightly in the second half and Tomas Rosicky will get the winner.

Suddenly, the Czechs may be in with a chance of advancing going into the final group match.

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It's the worst possible start for the Czechs, as they will concede a Robert Lewandowski wonder-goal within 15 minutes.

From there, the Polish attack has to press for another, but Petr Cech will valiantly fight to keep his side in it.

Finally, as the match peters out, the Czechs will hit on the counter-attack to draw level.

However, with so little time remaining, the Czechs are unable to pull off what the Turks did to them four years ago and will be stuck with a draw.

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It's four points in the group for the Czech Republic, but it's not enough as they are eliminated from the competition.

It's a valiant effort, especially from the great Petr Cech, but it leads to optimism for the future of Czech football.

It may be the same result as four years ago, but the atmosphere around it could not be different.

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