Poland strike early to oust Czechs

Czech Republic 0-2 Poland

Perfect start
Strikes from Wojciech Łobodziński and Mariusz Lewandowski gave Poland coach Leo Beenhakker the ideal start to his team's preparations for this summer's tournament. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic, whose coach Karel Brückner was watching the game at home due to illness, were left to rue a missed penalty four minutes after Poland had got their second.

Early breakthrough
Poland began the brighter and went in front after only six minutes when midfielder Łobodziński latched on to a long ball to score. Euzebiusz Smolarek had an opportunity to double the lead soon after, but one-on-one with Petr Čech he could not beat the Czech No1.

Missed penalty
The Czech Republic dominated possession as the half wore on yet failed to conjure an equaliser. They were made to pay in the 29th minute when Lewandowski found himself unmarked on the edge of the area and fired past Čech. Milan Baroš then won a penalty after he was brought down by Poland custodian Artur Boruc on 33 minutes. However, Jan Koller, the Czech Republic's all-time leading marksman, was denied his 52nd international goal as Boruc saved his tame effort.

Polish resistance
The Czechs upped the tempo after the break in a bid to get back into the match but found it hard to create openings without injured playmaker Tomáš Rosický. Koller's shot was saved by Łukasz Fabiański, replacing Boruc between the posts at half-time, while Jaroslav Plašil headed over ten minutes before the final whistle – the game's last chance. It was the Czech Republic's first loss since their home defeat by Germany last March.