Czech Republic Advance to Final in FIFA U-20 World Cup!!

Czech Republic booked the first ticket to the FIFA U-20 World Cup Final after a 2-0 semi-final victory over Austria in Edmonton on 18 July, 2007. Early strikes by Tomas Micola and Martin Fenin knocked the stuffing out of Austria and put the Czechs in a commanding position that they never looked like surrendering. The Austrian coach Paul Gludovatz sprang a surprise by including star striker Erwin 'Jimmy' Hoffer from the start in place of Rubin Okotie, despite using the Rapid Vienna forward as a match-winning substitute in their previous two knockout round encounters, but this time he could not deliver. Defender Daniel Grammann came in for Thomas Panny, who broke his leg the day before the game, in a side featuring only five starters from their 2-1 extra-time defeat of USA in the quarter-finals. The Czechs, meanwhile, were unchanged from the team that kicked-off in their penalty shootout win over Spain in the last eight. Read more...