At the time of thedissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the team was participating inUEFA qualifying Group 4 for the1994 World Cup; it completed the remainder of this campaign under the nameRepresentation of Czechs and Slovaks (RČS,Czech:Reprezentace Čechů a Slováků,Slovak:Reprezentácia Čechov a Slovákov) before it was disbanded in November 1993. Both theCzech andSlovak national teams are considered to be the joint successors of the Czechoslovak record.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
While part of theAustro-Hungarian Empire,Bohemia played its first international on 5 April 1903, a 2–1 loss forHungary inBudapest. On 7 October, Hungary came toPrague for a 4–4 draw. The two countries played three more matches up to 1908, including Bohemia's only victory on 6 October 1907. Bohemia played its last match on 13 June 1908, losing 4–0 at home toEngland.[8]
AfterWorld War I, an independent Czechoslovakia made its first appearance in 1919 in theInter-Allied Games inParis, a large sports competition organized in celebration of the Allied victory in the War.[13] However, the matches of the tournament are not included in the officialFIFA register.[14] Czechoslovakia topped their group with three wins over Belgium, United States, and Canada, thus reaching thefinal, where they defeated the hostsFrance with a dramatic 3–2 win, thanks to two late goals fromAntonín Janda.[13]
In the following year, Czechoslovakia participated in the1920 Olympic event inAntwerp, opening with a 7–0 win overYugoslavia on 28 August. This squad, which had thirteen players from the Inter-Allied roster, then beat Norway 4–0 the next day in the quarter-finals and France 4–1 in the semi-finals on the 31st. However, in the final againstBelgium on 2 September, the Czechoslovaks left the field 2–0 down after 40 minutes in protest with the English refereeJohn Lewis, and were ejected from the tournament.[15] Czechoslovakia returned for the1924 Olympics inParis and defeatedTurkey 5–2 in the first round, but was eliminated in the second 1–0 againstSwitzerland in a replay after a 1–1 draw.[8]
The nation entered the World Cup for the first time in1934, and won itsqualifier againstPoland after its neighbor withdrew following a 2–1 Czechoslovak win in the first leg. At the finals in Italy, Czechoslovakia advanced pastRomania, Switzerland, andGermany to reachthe final, where it lost 2–1 to the host country after extra time.Oldřich Nejedlý won the Golden Shoe with five goals in the tournament.[16]
In 1939, under the German occupation name of "Bohemia", the team played three matches, defeating Yugoslavia 7–3 and drawing with both Ostmark (occupied Austria) and Germany itself.[8]
After an absence from the1950 qualification campaign, Czechoslovakia qualified for 1954 by topping its qualifying group unbeaten against Bulgaria and Romania with three wins and a draw. However, inthe finals inSwitzerland, it was eliminated from a strong group after defeats to Uruguay and Austria.[8]
On 5 April 1959, Czechoslovakia played the first ever qualifying match in aUEFA European Championship, losing 2–0 away to theRepublic of Ireland but eventually advancing 4–2 on aggregate. Subsequent victories overDenmark (7–3 aggregate) and Romania (5–0 aggregate) put the country into the four-team finals in France. It lost 3–0 to theSoviet Union in the semi-final but gained third place with a 2–0 win over the hosts at theStade Velodrome inMarseille.[18]
Czechoslovakia qualified for the1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile by defeatingScotland 4–2 after extra time in a play-off inBrussels, Belgium, after finishing level in their qualifying group. In the group at the finals, Czechoslovakia opened with a 1–0 win overSpain from aJozef Štibrányi goal, and then drew 0–0 with holders Brazil. In the last group game on 7 June,Václav Mašek put Czechoslovakia ahead againstMexico in 12 seconds; the team lost 3–1 but advanced nonetheless.[19]
After goalkeeperViliam Schrojf's performance, a goal fromAdolf Scherer inRancagua was enough to beat Hungary in the quarter-final, and two more late goals by him against Yugoslavia put Czechoslovakia into their second World Cup final. In the final at theEstadio Nacional de Chile inSantiago,Josef Masopust put Czechoslovakia ahead after 15 minutes by finishing Scherer's pass, but Brazil soon equalised and exploited Schrojf's errors to win 3–1. Masopust's inspiration was awarded with the 1962Ballon d'Or.[20]
Czechoslovakia did not go to the1966 FIFA World Cup, with Portugal topping their qualifying group, nor did they qualify for the European Championships of 1964 and 1968. On 3 December 1969, they defeated Hungary 4–1 inMarseille in a play-off to reach the1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, having finished joint top of their qualifying group. Czechoslovakia lost all three of their matches in the 1970 World Cup, in a group featuring holders England and eventual winners Brazil.[8]
After missing out on the 1972 European Championship and the 1974 World Cup, Czechoslovakia reached the1976 European Championship inYugoslavia, topping a group featuring England, Portugal, andCyprus, before defeating the Soviet Union 4–2 in a play-off. In the semi-final inZagreb, they advanced after beating the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time. Inthe final on 20 June atCrvena Zvezda Stadium inBelgrade, Czechoslovakia led 2–0 before the game went to penalties at a 2–2 draw.Antonin Panenka scored the winning penalty with a chip,[21] subsequently referred toby his name when executed by other players.[22] In that squad, 16 of 22 players in the squad were Slovak and in both matches in the final tournament, 9 of 13 players were Slovak.[23]
Czechoslovakia playing C.A. Belgrano during their tour on Argentina in 1979
Czechoslovakia did not qualify for the1978 FIFA World Cup, as Scotland won their group.[24] The country did qualify forEuro 1980, and by coming second in its group behind West Germany faced the hosts Italy in a third-place play-off, which it won on sudden-death penalties at theStadio San Paolo inNaples.[25] At the1982 FIFA World Cup inSpain, Czechoslovakia was eliminated in the group stage after draws withKuwait andFrance and losing 2–0 to England. The country's last major tournament was the1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, where in the group it opened with a 5–1 victory against theUnited States before defeating Austria with a penalty fromMichal Bilek, enough to advance despite losing 2–0 to the hosts at theStadio Olimpico. In the last 16 at theStadio San Nicola inBari, a hat-trick fromTomáš Skuhravý featured in a 4–1 in overCosta Rica. Czechoslovakia was eliminated on 1 July in a quarter-final at theSan Siro, losing 1–0 from aLothar Matthäus penalty against eventual winners West Germany. Later that month, managerJozef Vengloš who had led Czechoslovakia in the tournament was appointed as the first foreign manager in English football, atAston Villa.[26] Czechoslovakia (RCS) played their last qualifier for the USA1994 FIFA World Cup in the no longer existing common republic, where they played their last match on 17 November 1993 against Belgium in Brussels. Since the game was for direct advancement from the group stage, RCS did not advance after a goalless draw. The RCS top scorer with six goals wasPeter Dubovský, who scored a hat-trick in the match against Romania inVšešportový areál on 2 June 1993.
^A meeting on 1 April 1906 is regarded as the first official game for Bohemia by theFootball Association of the Czech Republic (FAČR), with the meeting between Hungary and Bohemia on 5 April 1903 subsequently being recognised as a Prague representative team by the FAČR. TheHungarian Football Federation recognises the April 1903 meeting as official for Bohemia.[1]
For teams that have undergone name changes but no border alterations seehere For teams that have undergone border changes but no name alterations seehere
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