Winning Czechs continue great run, losing Austrians continue class act

The Czech Republic struck twice for the fourth time in the tournament Wednesday night against Austria Edmonton - goals in the fourth and 15th minute were more than enough to take one surprise side past another and into the FIFA U-20 World Cup final.

The Czechs took advantage of a modified Austrian back-four, and rode their early advantage to their first knockout stage victory that didn't call for penalties to decide a winner.

The Austrians made six changes in response to the shock broken ankle/fibula suffered by defender Thomas Panny in practice Tuesday and the suspensions of fellow defender Michael Madl and holding midfielder Michael Stanislaw.

Czech Republic coach Miroslav Soukup went with an un-changed starting lineup from its win over European champions Spain in the quarter-finals, despite having six players on yellow cards. In the end only one player, Petr Janda, will be lost for the final.

Soukup said his side didn't play as sharply as he would have liked, especially after going up 2-0 early, but he was very pleased to see his side go where no Czech under-20 team has gone before.

Interestingly, Soukup touched on the possibility of facing Argentina in the final, suggesting it would be something to see two sides from the so-called Group of Death make it to the end.

Hats off to a Czech team that has shown an ability to come through in the clutch, winning their last group game to reach the knockout stages, and then following that up with nail-biting successes against Asian powerhouse Japan and Spain before topping neighbouring Austria to move on.

The Czechs are well-coached, with an ability to adjust to their opponent, the capacity to score, and a goalkeeper in Radek Petr who can shut the door. I'm not sure that adds up to enough to top a strong South American foe but it could make for a tough test.

As for Austria, well they've proven they're winners, too. The side was bitten by the injury bug and decimated by suspensions, but was still able to give the Czechs a fight with surges to open the second half and several opportunities down the stretch. Clearly they have achieved beyond expectation, and they could very well go home without a medal, but they have done themselves proud on the pitch and perhaps even more so off the field.

Having had the chance to be around the team for a number of days, I can tell you this bunch is dedicated, positive, and very easy to deal with. Coach Paul Gludovatz sets the tone for the group with a great mix of attention to detail, love of the game, and perspective. Traits seemingly taken on by his squad, and at no time was there a better example of that than after losing the semifinal.

The coach and a number of players, with captain Sebastian Proedl front-and-centre, took the time to stop with media and talk things over at length. And not just talking but talking about making the best of things, about how a medal was still possible. No complaining about the timing of the Panny injury or about being down players due to suspension. No comments about referees or about the other team's tactics, in fact even crediting their opponent with being better on the day.

The Czechs and Austrians may be the surprise teams of the tournament, and may not be seen as on par with the likes of several sides already settled in back home, but they have done very well for themselves on and even off-the pitch - something to be proud about no matter what happens on Sunday.