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Czechs beat hosts 4:1 in first meeting to take third spot in China Cup; Kvitová reaches fourth round in Miami; and semi-finals line-up almost complete in Extraliga playoffs.
Czechs come from behind to overcome China 4:1
The Czech Republic’s footballers have beaten China 4:1 in a game to decide third place in the four-nation China Cup in Nanning. The Czechs initially fell behind on Monday in the country’s first ever game against China, the world’s most populous state but footballing minnows. However, the Czech Republic managed to turn things around in the second half, when Tomáš Kalas, Patrik Schick and Michael Krmenčík all found the net in a four-minute period before Pavel Kadeřábek made it four in the 78th minute. Three of those players had been brought on as substitutes.Against China coach Karel Jarolím made several changes from the side that had previously been beaten 2:0 by Uruguay. The South Americans’ goals came from world names Suarez and Cavani and Jarolím’s claim that the result could have been the other way around if the Czechs had possessed both players caused some amusement at home.
However, the Czechs – who missed out on the summer’s World Cup in Russia – have been going through a relatively positive spell, with Monday’s win the fifth in their last six outings. At the start of June they will test their strength against Australia and Nigeria during a training camp in Austria.