Czech Republic to face Slovakia, Poland in World Cup qualifiers

The Czech Republic has been drawn alongside its neighbour Slovakia in qualifying for World Cup 2010. Also in the Czech Republic’s group – group 3 – are Poland, Slovenia, Northern Ireland and San Marino. The Czech press has reacted to the draw by calling the group ‘manageable’ and identifying the Poles as the Czech Republic’s biggest threat. Only the outright winner of the group is guaranteed to go through to the World Cup, which will be held in South Africa in 2010. On Sunday, the preliminary draw for the qualifying stage of the competition was held in Durban.