Monday, June 21, 2004<br /><br />Czechs promise not to take it easy<br /><br /><br />SINTRA, Portugal, June 21 (Reuters) - The Czech Republic are promising not to ease up against Germany on Wednesday despite fielding what will be largely a reserve side.<br /><br />After clinching a quarter-final place with their stunning 3-2 victory over the Netherlands, coach Karel Brueckner said he would rest key players, including key midfielder Pavel Nedved, for the final game.<br /><br />Goalkeeper Petr Cech, however, said the fact the opposition was Germany would be motivation enough, with memories of the Euro 96 final still fresh.<br /><br />&#39;I remember watching that game at home with my family and it was very disappointing,&#39; Cech told reporters on Monday, referring to Germany&#39;s 2-1 victory over the Czechs in London.<br /><br />&#39;It would be good to send them home for a change after the next game. We have not beaten Germany for a long time so we will take this game very seriously.<br /><br />&#39;I&#39;m sure the coach will make changes but the players coming from the bench will be going all out to win.&#39;<br /><br />Midfielder Vladimir Smicer and striker Milan Baros, both scorers against the Dutch, are not sure whether they will be playing but are keen to complete the group phase on a positive note.<br /><br />&#39;There will be changes, we don&#39;t know how many,&#39; Smicer said. &#39;We&#39;ve already qualified so we have nothing to lose. We are under no pressure to play offensively, we can wait to see how Germany play.<br /><br />&#39;They are the ones who need to win but we also want to put in a good performance and I&#39;m sure we will.&#39;<br /><br />Baros said the players would be giving everything.<br /><br />&#39;We haven&#39;t beaten them much so that&#39;s why we want to win. This is Germany, it&#39;s a big challenge and the players who play will put everything into the game.&#39;<br /><br />The Czechs last beat Germany in the 1976 European Championship final following a penalty shootout.<br /><br />Germany need victory to make sure of reaching the last eight, while the Netherlands must beat Latvia and hope the Czechs do them a favour.<br /><br />Asked if he could give any assurances to the Dutch, Czech assistant manager Miroslav Beranek told reporters: &#39;We can&#39;t make any assurances to the Dutch but even if the lineup is very different from the two previous ones I can assure you that all the players who play will be hungry for victory.&#39;

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