On Tuesday evening, Bratislava became the center of European football in the under-21 category. The European Championship in this age category was drawn in the historic Reduta building, which our neighbors will organize in June next year. The Czech national team was not lacking in fate. Coach Jan Suchopárek’s men will face England, Germany and Slovenia in Group B.
A hard lot awaited her. The draw showed a friendlier face to fans from the Czech Republic, they won’t have far to go to the matches in the group and they won’t have to travel from place to place.
The participants were divided into four baskets according to the success rate. The host Slovakia, which received the fourth basket, was seeded in the A1 position, with the fact that it will play the group in Bratislava and Trnava. The Czech national team took the position in the third basket, which meant that they will not meet in the group Romania, Poland and Denmark, which they had in the qualifying group.
Juraj Kucka and Vratislav Greško took charge of the draw, and Lance Kelly managed it for UEFA. It started with the first basket full of the biggest favorites. This was followed by the second basket, which was also very good considering the strength of the opponents. At that moment, the tension on the Czech side was already rising sharply. At stake was the journey to the farthest destination in Prešov and Košice, but also the strength of the groups according to the opponents drawn so far.
Slovakian representative Juraj Kucka quickly turned from the role of drawing expectations into certainty. He pulled out a ticket with the inscription CZECH REPUBLIC as second in the order, which meant Group B in Dunajská Streda and Nitra, where the defending champions from England and Germany were already waiting. So the perfect revenge for the last championship and fights in Batumi, Georgia! Moments later, the last opponent – Slovenia – was added from the fourth basket.
“I had to smile a little. We already had Germany and England at the last championship, and even before that we had Slovenia in the qualifiers. So we are meeting old acquaintances and I would say even the same coaches. We are definitely the outsiders of the group,” said Jan Suchopárek.
“The favorites are clearly the defending champions England and the Germans, who have a very strong team. Slovenia overtook France in the qualifying group. All three matches will be very difficult for us, but all the more motivating. I believe that we will be strong in the audience. I believe we will show our best. We don’t just want to participate,” added the fifty-five-year-old former defender.
“Of course, the draw is interesting in that we played England and Germany in the last championship. We certainly have something to look forward to in preparation for the tournament. I am really looking forward to the championship, I hope that we will repeat the same result with Germany and that we will fight harder against England.” midfielder Adam Karabec said shortly after the draw. At that time, the Czech team lost 0:2 against England, Germany defeated 2:1.
The draw put a more friendly face on the Czech fans, who will not have far to travel to support their team and can also look forward to very attractive matches.
The six current representatives, wards of coach Jan Suchopárek of the 21st team, guessed possible opponents, Filip Vecheta and Patrik Vydra hit England, Lukáš Horníček and Adam Karabec correctly identified Slovenia, and Václav Sejk and Filip Prebsl did not hit a single opponent, so hopefully they will do better on lawn in Dunajská Streda, the team in position B1 plays all three matches here.
According to the provisional schedule, England should be played on 6/12, Germany on 6/15 and Slovenia on 6/18.
“It’s a tough draw, but I didn’t even count on anything else. In the final tournament, there are always only the elite. I’m glad that it’s being played in Slovakia, I know from my own experience that the team will feel at home there, and it’s great that the Czech fans they are close. I wish the Lions to remember the Slovakian Under-21 Championship of their predecessors in 2000.” stated shortly after the draw, FAČR chairman Petr Fousek.
| European Under-21 Championship draw 2025 (Slovakia, 11 – 28 June 2025) |
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Slovakia | Czechia | Portugal | Finland |
| Spain | England | Francie | The Netherlands |
| Italy | Germany | Polish | Ukraine |
| Romania | Slovenia | Georgia | Denmark |
The Czech national team will appear at the final tournament of the U21 European Championship for the third time in a row, only the great powers England, Spain and Italy have more participation in the “small” Euro.
Photo: UEFA.com
