Sports News
Last year Martin Koukal shot to fame with gold at the Cross Country Skiing World Championships. This year, however, things have not been going to well for the young star, who came 45th in the latest round of the World Cup on Sunday. In football, the Czech Republic have once again drawn the Netherlands, this time in their qualifying group for the 2006 World Cup. Meanwhile, Lazio have arrived in Prague ahead of Tuesday's crucial Champions League tie against Sparta. In ice hockey, Pardubice are really pulling away from the rest of the Extraliga: after 31 rounds they are 18 points clear of the pack.
Koukal blames collision for poor showing in Cross Country Skiing World Cup
"I'm certainly not satisfied with how the race went. It started off pretty well but then in the back of the group there was a collision when somebody tried to overtake somebody else. I think I might have finished further up the field and won some points if it hadn't been for that collision."
Martin Koukal currently lies at 15th in the Cross Country Skiing World Cup rankings.
Czech footballers draw Dutch again, this time in World Cup qualifiers
It's beginning to look like a bad joke: the Czech Republic's footballers have again drawn the Netherlands, this time in their qualifying group for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The Czechs had a hard task overcoming the Dutch in the qualifying stage of Euro 2004 and will face them again in Portugal, after Holland qualified via the playoffs. Czech reaction to the World Cup draw has been overwhelming negative, with perhaps the best Czech player of all time, Josef Masopust, describing it as a "disaster". The other countries in their group are Romania, Finland, Macedonia, Armenia and Andorra.
Lazio in Prague ahead of crucial Champions League game against Sparta
The Italian team Lazio have arrived in Prague ahead of Tuesday's all important Champions League clash against Sparta Prague. The best Sparta can hope for is second place in Group G, which would of course mean they would advance to the knock-out stages. To do that, however, the Czech champions need to beat Lazio and hope Besiktas lose to Chelsea. If they come third in Group G, Sparta will remain in Europe after Christmas, albeit in the less glamorous UEFA Cup.
Ex-international goalie Srnicek keeps clean sheet in Premiership debut
The former Czech international goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek made a kind of comeback on Saturday, when he made his English Premiership debut for Portsmouth, where he is a team-mate of another Czech, Patrik Berger. Srnicek, who is 35, will have been well pleased to have kept a clean sheet for his new club.
Pardubice leaving competition behind in ice hockey Extraliga
Pardubice are opening up an incredible lead at the top of the Czech Extraliga: they beat Vitkovice 5:2 in the latest round on Sunday, while the teams immediately behind them - Slavia, Sparta and Zlin - all lost, leaving Pardubice a whopping 18 points clear of the pack.
