Homeward-bound but desperate to win

Pavel Srnicek despairs as the Czechs lose to France

Whilst on paper a game between two sides already out of the tournament should be a dull and pointless exercise, Wednesday' s match between the Czech Republic and Denmark promises to break with tradition.

Both nations have vowed to go all out for victory, with both coaches desperate to reward their respective sets of fans with a win.

We're going for victory. We want to have our best players on the field

Czech coach Jozef Chovanec

The Czechs have been cheered on by a travelling army of 6,000 supporters despite defeats at the hands of Holland and France, and goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek believes it is payback time.

"Fans are a huge motivation for us," he said.

"When you see how many of them came here, you want to give them something in return."

Inexperienced

Coach Jozef Chovanec will not be using the game to blood inexperienced players.

"We're going for victory," he said.

"Everyone has tremendous motivation to show that we really can play soccer, and so we want to make sure we have the best possible players on the field."

While the Danes will also be pushing hard for to avoid the Group D wooden spoon, coach Bo Johansson is keen to give some of his fringe players a chance to impress.

Czech coach Jozef Chovanec: going for victory

"I'll try other players, that's for sure," he said, ahead of what will be his last match in charge of the national team.

"In tournaments like this, you need experience, and this experience will help players in the future."

Johansson also paid tribute to his goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.

"If we didn't have such a fantastic goalie, things could've been even worse," he said.

Shipped goals

Chovanec is taking nothing for granted, despite the Danes having the worse record of the two teams. They have shipped three goals in each of their games so far.

"The Danes didn't convert their early opportunities against France, when their strikers appeared face to face with the goalie several times," he said,

"Things could've been different had they had a tiny bit of luck.

"It will be an uncompromising fight."

After he missed the first two games through suspension, the Czechs have Liverpool midfielder Patrik Berger at their disposal.

Meaningless

Berger was sent off in the Czechs' final Euro 2000 qualifier against the Faroe Islands, a meaningless game as they had qualified weeks before.

"It's useless to go back to it now, but we knew right away after that match that we would miss him a lot," said Chovanec.

"Patrik is desperate to play. He's looking forward to the match."