Czech Rep. beats Switzerland 1:0 in Euro 2008 opener

The Czech national football team beat the host Switzerland 1:0 in the opening match of Euro 2008 in Basel on Saturday. The Swiss were better throughout most of the game but were unable to convert any of several opportunities, mainly due to Czech goalkeeper Petr Čech who showed some spectacular saves. The decisive moment came in the 70th minute of the game when Václav Svěrkoš, who had replaced another striker Jan Koler shortly before, scored the winning goal of the match. In their next appearance at Euro 2008, the Czech Republic will face Portugal on Wednesday.