History repeats itself. Czech soccer players are the last step away from participating in the European Championship. Just like in 2021, they will have a play-off double-header, in which they will challenge the Portugal team this time. “We all know we have a doubleheader for everything. We want to win it and advance to the championship,” said midfielder Kamila Dubcová before leaving for Porto.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Czech team boarded a plane to Portugal, where they will try to get the best possible result on Friday, which would be a good starting position for the rematch. It will take place on December 3 in Teplice.
“I experienced the last play-off for the EURO against Switzerland, when we lost on penalties and did not advance to the EURO. I don’t want to experience anything like that again, and I, like our entire team, am determined to win and advance.” said the player of the Austrian St. Pölten Kamila Dubcová.
The play-off double match will bring two teams that were at a very similar level in the recent past. The Czechs even had a 100% record with Portugal for many years, eight wins from eight matches. But women’s football in Portugal has gone up a lot in recent years, and Portugal’s footballers played in the European Championships in 2017 and 2022 and even the World Cup last year.
The most recent match between the two teams was by coincidence in February of this year. As part of the preparation for the qualification for the European Championship, the Czech team lost 1:3 against the home team in Portugal.
“It was at a time when the Czech league still had a winter break and we were not very well played. We didn’t catch the beginning of the match and we got two goals very quickly. Nothing like that must happen now. If we tried to fall asleep like this again, we probably wouldn’t have a chance to catch up.” added Kamila Dubcová.
Portugal’s soccer players played in League B as part of the EURO qualification, where they clearly dominated their group after five wins and one draw. Subsequently, they beat Azerbaijan 4:1 and 4:0 in the first round of the playoffs and easily progressed to the second round.
“The Portuguese women are strong on the ball, they have a very good midfield and their great quality is mainly in the offensive. On the contrary, I think they have a weaker defense and there will be room for us to overcome them.” Dubcová remarked to her rivals.
Kamila Dubcová is one of the players who has been working abroad in recent years. She has already played a number of very prestigious matches, but participating in the EURO would be the highlight of her career.
“I played in Italy’s highest competition, now I play in the Champions League, but playing for the Czech Republic in a big tournament would of course be the most important thing for me. That is my biggest dream,” said the twenty-five-year-old midwife at the end.
