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Hubník demands Czech cohesion

Defender Roman Hubník hopes that the Czech Republic can rediscover their "team spirit" in time for the Group B match against a dangerous Serbia side in Nijmegen.

Defender Roman Hubník hopes the Czech Republic can rediscover their "team spirit" in time for tonight's Group B game against a dangerous Serbia side.

'A bit lost'
Hubník, who turned 23 on 6 June, was not convinced by his side's performance in their 0-0 opening draw against England, and believes the Czech Republic will have to produce a more cohesive display to beat Group B leaders Serbia. "In the game against England, most of our players just tried to put in good individual performances so the team spirit got a bit lost," he explained.

'A good result'
While the powerful centre-back conceded that a 0-0 draw against Stuart Pearce's side "was a good result" he did not feel that a similar performance would suffice against Serbia. "We can't continue to play the way we did against England," he said. "This time we are up against very tough, physical and hard-working opponents in a very competitive game."

Cagey performance
The FC Moskva player expects a cagey performance from Serbia, but knows that he and his defensive colleagues will have to be on their guard: "Even though all Serbia's players are technically at a very high level, as well as very strong in defence, I think they'll wait for us to make mistakes. We need to avoid making mistakes in defence but if we play our game it should be OK."

Support vital
Having learned that the "very quick Serbian forwards are really strong on the counterattack", Hubník is hoping that the Czech fans can help steady his side's nerves. Coach Ladislav Škorpil noted that Serbia's fans played their part in the 1-0 opening win against Italy, celebrating "as if they were at home". The defender remained calm, saying: "Our fans will come and support us, too."

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