Rosicky, Cech in Czech squad for Italy qualifier

Rosicky, Cech in Czech squad for Italy qualifier

Published May. 23, 2013 12:51 p.m. ET

Midfielder Tomas Rosicky and goalkeeper Petr Cech have been included in the Czech Republic squad for the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Italy next month.

The Czechs need to do well in the June 7 game in Prague to keep their hopes alive to qualify for the tournament in Brazil.

Italy leads Group B of European qualifying with a three-point advantage over Bulgaria. The Czechs are third, five points behind Italy.

Czech Republic coach Michal Bilek will stage a training camp next week for players whose season is over. Rosicky, who helped Arsenal qualify for the Champions League with a fourth-place finish in the Premier League, will be among them.

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Rosicky has only played the past two qualifiers, and the Czechs have badly missed his creativity for the majority of qualifying.

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Squad:

Goalkeepers: Petr Cech (Chelsea), Jaroslav Drobny (Hamburg), Tomas Vaclik (Sparta Prague)

Defenders: Theodor Gebre Selassie (Werder Bremen), Michal Kadlec (Bayer Leverkusen), Tomas Kalas (Vitesse Arnhem), David Limbersky (Viktoria Plzen), Vaclav Prochazka (Viktoria Plzen), Tomas Sivok (Besiktas), Marek Suchy (Spartak Moscow)

Midfielders: Vladimir Darida (Viktoria Plzen), Tomas Hubschman (Shakhtar Donetsk), Petr Jiracek (Hamburg), Daniel Kolar (Viktoria Plzen), Ladislav Krejci (Sparta Prague), Jaroslav Plasil (Bordeaux), Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal)

Forwards: Vaclav Kadlec (Sparta Prague), Libor Kozak (Lazio), David Lafata (Sparta Prague), Matej Vydra (Watford)

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