This month's sports news.

Premier League January Fixtures

Wednesday, 01 February 2006

Sunderland v Middlesbrough , 02:45

Wigan v Everton, 02:45 ESPN

Charlton v West Brom , 03:00

Fulham v Tottenham, 03:00 ESPN

Liverpool v Birmingham , 03:00 STAR

Thursday, 02 February 2006

Aston Villa v Chelsea , 02:45 ESPN

Man City v Newcastle , 02:45

Portsmouth v Bolton , 02:45

Arsenal v West Ham, 03:00 ESPN

Blackburn v Man Utd, 03:00 STAR

Saturday, 04 February 2006

Birmingham v Arsenal, 22:00 ESPN

Bolton v Wigan , 22:00

Everton v Man City , 22:00 STAR

Middlesbrough v Aston Villa, 22:00

Newcastle v Portsmouth , 22:00

West Brom v Blackburn , 22:00

West Ham v Sunderland , 22:00

Sunday, 05 February 2006

Man Utd v Fulham, 00:15

Tottenham v Charlton, 20:30 ESPN

Chelsea v Liverpool , 23:00 ESPN

Saturday, 11 February 2006

Wigan v Liverpool , 19:45 ESPN

Arsenal v Bolton , 22:00 ESPN

Aston Villa v Newcastle , 22:00

Everton v Blackburn , 22:00

Fulham v West Brom , 22:00

Middlesbrough v Chelsea , 22:00 STAR

Sunday, 12 February 2006

Portsmouth v Man Utd, 00:15 ESPN

Sunderland v Tottenham, 20:30 ESPN

Man City v Charlton, 23:00 ESPN

Tuesday, 14 February 2006

West Ham v Birmingham , 03:00 ESPN

Wednesday, 15 February 2006

Liverpool v Arsenal, 03:00 STAR

Thursday, 16 February 2006

Blackburn v Sunderland , 03:00

Saturday/Sunday, 18/19 February 2006

FA Cup 5 th round

Saturday, 25 February 2006

Birmingham v Sunderland , 22:00

Blackburn v Arsenal, 22:00

Charlton v Aston Villa, 22:00

Chelsea v Portsmouth , 22:00 STAR

Man Utd v West Ham, 22:00 ESPN

Tottenham v Wigan , 22:00

Sunday, 26 February 2006

Newcastle v Everton, 00:15

Liverpool v Man City , 19:15 ESPN

Bolton v Fulham, 20:00

West Brom v Middlesbrough , 22:00

Hua Hin Pool League

Pool Presentation

Last month the final league tables for the season were published as the 2005 8 ball season was drawing to a close, and the final event of the season was the presentation of the trophies and certificates to all the winners and runners up. The event was held on 11th January 2006, upstairs in Crawfords Hua Hin, and special mention must go to Ken and his staff for the excellent service and the superb food that was laid on. The event was very well attended, and the only notable absentee was Andy, the winner of the individual prize, as he was in his home country Germany at the time. A big thanks must also go to Hans from Halex, the main sponsors of the league, for providing all the trophies for the season. Also many thanks to All In Hua Hin for their support this season. Last, but most definitely not least, the committee of Chris, Lek and Wij get profuse thanks for all their organising, in particular Chris. The awards were announced and presented by Wij, MC extraordinaire, and went to the following teams and individuals;

Well done to everyone concerned in making it another enjoyable and successful competition. By the time this article is published the new season will be underway, starting with the first round of the Toby Charnaud Memorial Cup on 18th January, and followed by the first league matches on 25th January. No major rule or format changes have been announced for the new season, but the league structure has changed to accommodate the increase in teams competing. There will be three divisions, with the top two comprising 8 teams each, and the third comprising of the remaining teams depending on the final number of teams registering. Teams will be put in the division relevant to their performance or their player's performances last season. A new sponsor has also come forward, in the form of The Premier Property Center, who will be backing the top league and providing the trophy, and the leagues will now be named as follows; The Premier Property Center League; The Halex Championship League; The Halex Fun League

At the end of the season there will be promotion and relegation between all the leagues in a two up, two down system. As always, everyone is welcome – just approach your favourite team to join in the fun!

The Toby Charnaud Memorial Cup

Winners – Octopus's

Runners up – Lips

Overall League Champions

Sugar Cane

League A

Winners – U-Turn

Runners up – Rose

League B

Winners – Octopus's

Runners up – Sugar Cane

Shield

Winners – Sugar Cane

Runners up – Nid's Place

Top 16 Individuals

Winner – Andy

Runner up – Chatchai Saisano (K)

Third place – Somboon Kampirayod (James)

Top 8 Ladies Winner – Jantra Phantuean (Nok)

Runner up – Surada Chinrum (Pawn)

Third place – Supattra Singpaisan

Hua Hin Darts

Week 9 Results

League Table – Week 9

Week 10 Fixtures

Hua Hin Hash House Harriers

The 7 th January run of the H2H3 at 'the same dam place', hared by veteran Hares 'Cathusalem' and 'Iron Lady', was a really great run with the trail reccied many times before finally set in shredded paper and flour checks set in a circular manner for accurate direction indication once the checks were broken. The runners' trails weaved in and out of the walkers' trail making for a unique and interesting track. Well done to the Hares. It was observed that walker Mick got bored with the walk about 10 minutes after it started and took off in a sprint which he maintained to the end, passing up several seasoned runners in the process. "Quick Mick" will be christened in an appropriate manner at the next H2H3 run he attends. There was a relatively short circle with a minimum of circle nonsense as Ballbanger forgot to bring the gaslights. The sun dropped off the west end of the lake, the circle was broken and ALL of the hashers from Hua Hin and Cha Am went to the On On at a good Thai style BBQ in Hua Hin near soi 47.

In October of this year the Worldwide Interhash will happen in Chiang Mai with up to 6000 hashers coming from all over the world for days of fun and running. "The Great Train Rumble" will carry 400 hashers from many points of the globe. The train will leave Singapore and travel to Chiang Mai with many stops on the way including a stopover in Hua Hin where the H2H3 will coordinate events including several hash runs, a Circle and an On On for the 400 hashers riding the rails northward. Watch for more news of this very special Hash event in the KobWeb, www.huahin-hhh.com and in the Observer magazine.

Hua Hin Cricket

The moon was full over the Gulf of Siam , the tide was receding and there were stars in many people's eyes. Maybe it was the formation of tears of joy that was making the moonbeams diffracting off the placid Gulf waters create the stars in many of the adults' eyes. What is this guy talking about, and where, why and about whom?

Well what do you think? It's cricket time in Hua Hin!

Let's start a long way back in a small village or two in the Northeast of Thailand. We are talking about Khon Kaeng where in the rainy season the sky dumps in buckets and then all of a sudden it is gone and the dry season begins. The cooling rains are gone and temperatures are in the mid to high 40's and blisteringly hot. There's not an Internet cafe or a 7/11 on every corner of these villages so as you can imagine we are in the rural countryside in this part of Thailand that has changed very little over a long period of time. The key to what I am saying is that I did say change but what could that change be? Amazingly it's youth cricket. Cricket! Cricket in the rice paddies of Khon Kaeng? Yes, yes and yes again.

Many obstacles have been met and many have been overcome yet it would be more than presumptuous to think that they have even gotten close to conquering them all. This youth program does not have a proper pitch and in reality their cricket grounds consist of one net where almost two dozen aspiring players get a chance to do something that no one else in that part of the country has ever done. That is to try to excel in a sport that a few years earlier was as unknown to them as ice hockey.

Hua Hin was graced to have the ability to participate with the Khon Kaeng youth cricket program at The Dusit Polo Club (Thanks Simon, Thanks Khun Itti, Thanks Dusit) this January. With the support of some of their local residents Leigh Dennis, Nick Woods (an ex-pro cricketer from Britain), Raja Deep Singh Jon (Sunny), the Hottinger family and the Siam Cricket Club this young group of 16 gentlemen (and I do not use that word loosely) ages nine to fifteen years old were able to charter a bus and make the almost 14 hour southward journey to the home of their King here in Hua Hin. What a journey it was as everyone on that cricket team had never been to Hua Hin or had been able to set foot in it's gorgeous surf and sand. Imagine the feelings that flowed through their impressionistic minds as they dragged themselves off the bus that departed at two o'clock Friday morning, and they were able to check into their lodgings and then finally run loose for the first time on the sand of their revered King's favourite beach. I wasn't there, but I know if I was, I probably wouldn't be able to describe it.

Friday night they had an eight o'clock curfew, as the purpose of this journey was to play in two matches against the newly formed youth group, the Hua Hin Hop-A-Littles, they were not just here for a weekend of frolicking on the beach. Eight o'clock Saturday morning found their squad going through their paces at The Dusit preparing to compete against the new youth cricket team comprised of eight youngsters (the oldest 11 years old) from Hua Hin who have been learning the basics of the game due to the generous time that both Colin Devonshire and Mick Wittering had been giving them every Sunday for almost a half a year. This would prove to be the first match that this group of athletes had ever experienced. The team from up north is very experienced and have been judged to be some of the finest youth cricketers in all of Thailand . This is largely due to the expert guidance of their extremely dedicated coach, John Hottinger, a 19 year old Thai/English cricketer who chose to return from England , after almost five years, to Khon Kaeng and try to develop this team in his home town and forego the chance to continue his career as a professional player in Britain . It is said that almost half of his time is used going around to the villages and picking up his players for practice and then returning them. He sadly related the story of losing one of his most promising players as his parents decided that at the age of 13 it was time for him to discontinue his education and start a full time job. Still John's dedication makes him search this player out and get him to practices whenever he is able. The ubiquitous and well-known Khun Kader, the head of Youth Cricket Development in Thailand is constantly helping John in all ways possible. John and he would have to be considered the solid base and future that will bring Thai youth cricket to the top international level. They are very close now.

It was a foregone conclusion that the northerners would definitely be winning their matches when the youngest of the teams went out to battle on a reduced size pitch. The real interesting aspect of the first day was when they would use their entire team on a full size pitch against the infamous Hua Hin Hop-A-Longs and a few experienced British veteran cricketers (OK the average age of the team was definitely over 50, also the average size and weight might have exceeded 50% of their northern opponents). If I were a young player who had travelled that long distance into a rather different world I might have felt slightly intimidated as these foreign monsters marched out onto the pitch. Lucky for them I wasn't on their side because as I recalled on that first day I was the only Limp a Lot that was "not out" with an impressive one run scored on a "leg by" (don't put that in the extra category scorekeeper, that was MY run, justly deserved because my bat seemed to have a very large hole in it) when the cheers went up as we were thoroughly annihilated in rather rapid fashion.

I believe it was very very poor judgment by both Mick and Colin that had caused our demise. They had organized a group of local businesses, The Dusit Polo Club, Custom Clubmakers, The Observer, The Jungle Juice, GDL Pools and Green Card Golf along with other locals, to sponsor the cost of the competitions. They also sponsored a beachfront dinner that evening for the teams at Panna's on the beach near Cha Am. I believe that the thoughts of returning to the beautiful beach was a major factor in regards to these Khon Kaeng butchers turning us into Papaya Pok Pok so quickly.

Well there wasn't much Pok Pok for dinner as Colin's industrious, beautiful and extremely well organized wife, Boom, had everything set up perfectly when everyone showed up on the beach. I believed that she had at least 8-10 platters of our famous gulf crabs prepared to perfection, there must have been more than a dozen crabs on each platter (I really don't know what was brighter, the beautiful stars in the sky or the eyes of these young cricketers). The crabs were just some of the starters, there were platters of prawns cooked in many different styles, fried chicken, fried rice with seafood, sheik kabobs, spicy Thai salads, a couple of different types of tom yam soup and more of the same and other different delicacies that I am only too lazy to want to remember. To say that the young men had healthy appetites might be an understatement but after a while when I turned around and saw the food that had been devoured and the young fellows running about chasing the outgoing tide as a gloriously huge full moon was rising out of the gulf I knew that I might never experience a sense of joy and satisfaction that I was having there and then.

I remember a little later talking to Dave, the owner of the Jungle Juice, and hearing him say that this is what it is all about. The friendships that these fellows make by being able to join, compete and bond in a team sport are the kinds of friendships that many times last a lifetime. They probably had never set foot in the ocean and had only seen it in pictures in a book and now they were running footloose and fancy free through the gentle waves that were lapping the sands, all because they were given a chance. A chance that didn't even exist three years ago. Lennie Devonshire put a smile on both our faces as he and another member of the Khon Kaeng squad walked up the beach with an arm around each other's shoulder as they searched out a football to kick along the beach. There are some things that are so precious that words almost diminish them.

Remember this is about cricket and the Hop-A-Longs may not be the greatest players (though we had already put out phone calls to a couple of Bangkok ringers to bolster our team for Sunday) but we ain't dumb! We were able to get the beach side music stage fired up then got the Karaoke machine going about an hour and a half after dinner and that is all we needed. Now we had those termites right where we wanted them. Once we got two microphones going there were never less than six people on the stage and at least half of everybody else was joining in from the beach side. You may be young and you may be great cricketers (many are on the Thai National Team) but now they had fallen victims to our well laid plan. We made them forget about cricket and their curfew, but after many many songs, the international experience of their coach John came through, as he understood that they were falling into a deep trap. Luckily he realized it and was able to try to salvage his team from this devious, cowardly and insidious ploy. In short order, well actually after a couple of three more songs, of which I believe he had the microphone for at least one, they piled back onto their bus and were off for a good nights rest.

Sunday arrived and so did our big guns. With our imported superstars and a much younger, yet mature team, we went out and showed them what and how the game was to be played and played we did. We had, from the day earlier, a loss to avenge and as you may well know sometimes pride plays a big picture in the outcome and performance of a competition. So we now know that when they hopefully come back to grace us with their presence again we will now not have one loss but two losses to avenge. We will change our strategy and force them to eat for at least three hours straight before they can leave the table and they will have to sing a minimum of at least 50 Karaoke songs and bedtime will not be allowed before two o'clock in the morning. Then we'll see who the real cricketers are. I will also suggest that we attempt to make some phone calls to Chang Mai and a few extra to Bangkok to make sure that we have just enough players to Hop-a-Lot along with us. I also think I might be able to secure a few professionals from the Australia National team if I can get enough notice. Then we'll see if they walk away with those huge magnificent smiles that they left us with on that gorgeous Sunday afternoon.

It cannot and will not go without saying that these young gentlemen and their first class coach, John, were exemplary in every aspect of their actions, on the pitch during the competitions, and after. Their manners around the Dusit (how can you say thank you enough to Simon and Khun Itti at the Dusit for making this all possible, but let me say it again, Khap Khun Mah Khap, without you and the Dusit's unending support, an experience of a lifetime would have been lost to these lucky young fellows), at the beach and the restaurant has to make John, the men who have helped him and especially their parents feel that they truly have individuals and a team that are something very special and they can be extremely proud of. I am extremely proud of you but more than that I respect you as a truly great team and individuals. Good Luck and Choke Dee in everything you do.

As for our Hop-A-Littles, I was shocked, I hadn't been able to see them practice for at least two months and I was a bit suspect to see if they would be able to even to go on the pitch and compete since this was the first time that they had stepped onto one to compete. We all know what nerves are and inexperience only adds to that. They really surprised me, as they were able to actually take five wickets in their first 20 over match. I didn't analyze the scorer's books but hate to admit that I'm sure they actually had a higher runs per over average than their infamous seniors. Believe it or not both Nicholas and Lennie (11 and 10 years old) were brought in to assist the ringers et al late Sunday afternoon. They bowled on a regulation crease with a regulation ball allowing no boundaries very few runs and believe it, Nicholas took two wickets in two overs (Yeah Mick I know that's two more than I got in eight overs, nice hands Colin). I would have to rate Alex as most inspirational, her hustle and intensity should set the standard for the team. Biggest surprise performer goes to Donnelle as he switched from batting from the left side to the right and put the bat on the ball extremely well. Eiow was Mr. Consistent as he defended the wicket and stymied the Khon Kaeng bowlers for many overs. Poon turned out to be the team's slogger as he pounded that red sphere. Jack showed that soccer isn't his only forte as he proved to be the team's "all rounder". Rounding out the squad of 8 was the team's secret weapon Manesh. To all the Hop-A-Littles, a resounding well done. You made the town of Hua Hin very very proud and just as important I think you all know that you made yourselves feel proud also. We all look forward to seeing you participate again

Success and victories can be judged and compiled in numerous different ways. In this one glorious weekend I would be extremely hard pressed to have the time and creativity to explain or show how everyone who was involved in this project were almost overwhelmed by the great spirit, joy and fun that we all were able to take from our participation. There was a great deal of magic that may have never been seen before; let's all hope that it will be experienced again. I have said it once before and it definitely bears repeating, I have played many team sports and I find that cricket is the standard of sportsmanship that all team sports should look to emulate. Choke Dee to all in all.

by Tom

World Cup Qualifiers - Also Runs

Our continuing guide to next summer's World Cup looks this month at teams that have made it but will essentially be ‘making up the numbers', and are not expected to make much impact in terms of playing style or performance. Some of them, however, have just been unfortunate - like the Czech Republic - to have been drawn in particularly tough groups, although there is no real ‘Group of Death' this time around. Even those here who progress to the knockout stage are unlikely to get any further.

Japan (Group F)

Fixtures:

Mon 12 June (14:00): Australia v Japan (Kaiserslautern)

Sun 18 June (17:00): Japan v Croatia (Nuremberg)

Thu 22 June (20:00): Japan v Brazil (Dortmund)

Manager/Coach: The public called for Zico's head during an uninspiring qualification campaign. The Brazilian benefited from fortunate late victories and is also lucky to be employed by an association who probably couldn't bring themselves to fire the football legend.

Key Players: Captain and centre-back Tsuneyasu Miyamoto is an elegant player, excellent reader of the game and, according to his squealing fan club at national team games, ravishingly handsome to boot.

Yuji Nakazawa, the other half of the solid defensive pairing from Gamba Osaka.

Feyenoord's Shinji Ono is the best all-round player and one of their few born leaders. But Bolton's Hidetoshi Nakata remains the star attraction - the Premier League hasn't seen the best of him yet.

Assessment: The Japanese made progress from their first ever World Cup in 1998, when they lost every game, to their co-hosting role in 2002 when they reached the second round, but it doesn't appear that this progress has continued after their shaky qualification. They have a potentially very strong midfield, but are let down by their strikers more often than not. The biggest reason for predicting an early exit is, however, the group they find themselves in. They could quite easily lose against all three of the other teams, and particularly Brazil and Croatia. Australia could be one of the surprises this time around too.

Tunisia (Group H)

Fixtures (all times BST):

Wed 14 June (17:00): Tunisia v Saudi Arabia (Munich)

Mon 19 June (17:00): Spain v Tunisia (Stuttgart)

Fri 23 June (20:00): Ukraine v Tunisia (Berlin)

Manager/Coach: Roger Lemerre was hailed as the saviour of Tunisian football after the Frenchman guided the North African side to a momentous win over Morocco in the final of the 2004 African Cup of Nations.

Key Players: Captain Riadh Bouazizi is a veteran of the side, having won more than 50 caps. The 32-year-old is a tough tackler in the heart of midfield.

Francileudo dos Santos, who scored six goals during qualifying, including four in the 7-0 thumping of Malawi.

Ajax defender Hatem Trabelsi is a solid player in a solid defence, and the 28-year-old has won almost 50 caps for Tunisia.

Assessment: The North Africans have appeared at the World Cup three times - in 1978, 1998 and 2002. They went out in the first round on all three occasions. They are the only African qualifier from 2002 to make it through to Germany. Tunisia are not in the toughest of groups but in Spain and Ukraine they have two much stronger teams whom they are unlikely to get anything from. They do not have a wealth of star players but work well as a unit and have improved 10-fold following the arrival of Lemerre. However they have never done it on the big stage yet and need to overcome their stage fright. They should beat Saudi Arabia and it is possible with a bit of luck that they could squeeze into the knockout phase but 3rd in the group is most likely.

Paraguay (Group B)

Fixtures:

Sat 10 June (14:00): England v Paraguay (Frankfurt)

Thu 15 June (20:00): Sweden v Paraguay (Berlin)

Tue 20 June (20:00): Paraguay v Trinidad & Tobago (Kaiserslautern)

Manager/Coach: Anibal “Mano” Ruiz, a veteran Uruguayan who both as a player and coach has led a gypsy existence, working all over Latin America. He has a long association with Paraguayan football and took over straight after the 2002 World Cup.

Key Players: Captain Carlos Gamarra, veteran centre-back who recently passed his century of caps. A defender of such class that he went through all four of his country's games in the 1998 World Cup in France without committing a single foul.

Carlos Paredes, who plays for Reggina in Italy, is an all-round dynamo in midfield. An aggressive tackler, he passes well, has the lungpower to break into the box and finishes well on the ground and in the air.

Roque Santa Cruz was leading his country's attack at the age of 17. Frequent injuries have interrupted his career and he is facing a struggle to recover from his latest breakdown in time for Germany - but when fit he gives the team a threat in the air and pace and skill on the ground.

Assessment: This will be their seventh World Cup, and it's the first time they have qualified for three in a row. They made the second round the last three times, but have never gone any further.

They have a resilient team spirit and a blend between veterans of the last two World Cups and a new generation of talent, which has been given its chance in recent months. There will be plenty of aerial strength in the opponent's penalty area. However the defence is not quite the force it was. Gamarra will be 35 in Germany and he lacks a commanding stopper alongside him or a keeper who takes charge in the way that Chilavert used to. With England and Sweden in their group it seems likely that they will finish a close third.

Poland (Group A)

Fixtures: Fri 9 June (20:00): Poland v Ecuador (Gelsenkirchen)

Wed 14 June (20:00): Germany v Poland (Dortmund)

Tue 20 June (15:00): Costa Rica v Poland (Hanover)

Manager/Coach: Pawel Janas. A very popular man who keeps himself to himself - very different from predecessor Jerzy Engel.

Key Players: Captain and influential defender Tomasz Klos. The vastly experienced Klos is now with Wisla Krakow but has played for Auxerre in France and Kaiserslautern and Cologne in Germany. Was at the 2002 World Cup.

Midfielder Jacek Krzynowek is regarded by many as the star man of the Poland squad. His goals in qualifying have established him as the focal point of the attack. A favourite of the Polish fans, his nickname is “The Goals Hunter”.

Assessment: Poland have twice finished third in World Cup finals (1974 and 1982), but this is only the second time since 1986 they have qualified. Despite the absence of star names in the team they don't lack for goals. Only three European teams scored more than them in qualifying. Led the way for much of the qualification before being overtaken late on by England, but made it as one of the best second-placed sides. Unfortunately at the other end they are not so hot and have developed a habit of conceding sloppy goals. The chances are that they will finish second to Germany in their group, but it is entirely possible that Ecuador or Costa Rica could spring a surprise on them. If they do make it to the knockout phase that will be it for them.

Ecuador (Group A)

Fixtures: Fri 9 June (20:00): Poland v Ecuador (Gelsenkirchen)

Thu 15 June (14:00): Ecuador v Costa Rica (Hamburg)

Tue 20 June (15:00): Ecuador v Germany (Berlin)

Manager/Coach: Luis Fernando Suarez - a Colombian, like his predecessor Hernan Dario Gomez, who took Ecuador to their historic first World Cup in 2002. Suarez took over after the 2004 Copa America and made a quick impression, discarding older players and rebuilding the team.

Key Players: Ivan Hurtado is a cultured centre-back and the captain who seems to have been around for ages. Has nearly 130 caps to his name and is still only 31.

Centre-half Giovany Espinoza was the only player in South America to play in all 18 qualifiers. He holds the defence together in the air and has shown great improvement on the ground.

Edison Mendez is a quality midfielder with a vicious shot. High hopes also surround 20-year-old midfielder Luis Antonio Valencia, though he is struggling to adapt at Villarreal.

Assessment: The 2002 finals were their debut and they were eliminated in the group phase. In qualification they made it with a game to spare and finished third in the group as well as beating both Argentina and Brazil along the way, albeit at home, at altitude. Ecuador have a clear tactical approach and have moved away from the tip-tap short passing through the middle style that characterized their game. Now they keep the middle tight and look to strike quickly down the flanks. They do lack European experience though - they've only ever played three full internationals in Europe. Their defence can be caught flat and, if Espinoza is taken out, is all over the place in the air. Goalkeeping is also not their strongest suit. It is possible that they could upset Poland, and they should easily beat Costa Rica, but it is likely that their Europhobia will get the better of them, and finish third.

South Korea (Group G)

Fixtures: Tue 13 June (20:00): South Korea v Togo (Frankfurt)

Sun 18 June (20:00): France v South Korea (Leipzig)

Fri 23 June (15:00): Switzerland v South Korea (Hanover)

Manager/Coach: The experienced Dutchman Dick Advocaat replaced Jo Bonfrere, who led them through qualifying but stepped down after some disappointing results.

Key Players: Park Ji-sung. After starring for PSV Eindhoven his arrival at Manchester United has seen his profile hit the roof. That has been backed up by some impressive performances in the Premiership.

Choi Jin-Cheul is a decent defender who is likely to be the captain.

Striker Lee Dong-Gook's goals proved crucial in qualifying.

Assessment: They have qualified for the last five World Cups but generally went out in the group stage, although as hosts in 2002 they achieved a remarkable fourth place. Their qualification was far from convincing and they struggled through in second place behind Saudi Arabia. They are a young side offering plenty of potential and competition for places in attack and midfield, but the side has struggled at the back since losing some of their veteran defenders from the last World Cup. With France and Switzerland in their group they will have to settle for a third place group finish at best.

Czech Republic (Group E)

Fixtures: Mon 12 June (17:00): USA v Czech Republic (Gelsenkirchen)

Sat 17 June (20:00): Czech Republic v Ghana (Cologne)

Thu 22 June (15:00): Czech Republic v Italy (Hamburg)

Manager/Coach: Karel Bruckner. Took charge in 2001 after a successful spell as Under-21 coach, he is like a father figure of the current crop of players who he helped bring through.

Key Players: Tomas Galasek, the captain and a rock at the heart of the midfield, allowing those around him to get forward.

Tomas Rosicky, who is nicknamed dumpling after his favourite food, scored six goals during the qualifying campaign. He played through the pain barrier in the play-off final against Norway and was rewarded with the winning goal.

Pavel Nedved came out of retirement to help them qualify and the country is hopeful he will stick around for the finals.

Assessment: They last qualified as Czechoslovakia in 1990 when they made the quarterfinals. They have twice finished runners-up (1962 and 1934). Qualification this time was done the hard way - they finished second best to Holland in a tough qualifying group that also consisted of Romania, before emerging as 2-0 play-off winners over Norway. In the likes of Nedved, Jan Koller, Karel Poborsky, Milan Baros, Petr Cech and Rosicky they have enough talent to cause problems for anybody. Nobody scored more goals than the Czechs in the European qualifying campaign, but they do struggle for consistency. At both Euro 2004 and in qualifying for Germany they looked unbeatable, but at other times they fail to sparkle. They are in one of the toughest and most unpredictable groups, where any of the teams can beat each other. They could easily beat Italy and yet lose to the USA and Ghana – we expect them to finish third in the group.

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