The cliché
Attractive dark horses hampered by overtly gung-ho approach.
The reality
Attractive old nags who squeaked through the play-offs by beating Norway 1-0 home and away. Won nine of 12 group games but lost twice to winners Holland. Befitting a disciple of total football, Karel Bruckner's attacking strategy saw eight different players scoring in qualification but it's the "last hurrah" return from exile of a jaded but still pivotal Pavel Nedved to feed off Jan Koller, if fit, that promises to unsettle Italy and the USA.
Where they're staying
The Lindner Hotel & Sporting Club, Wiesensee, is "elegant and simultaneously cosy". Their digs are in the heart of the woody Westerwald, famous for its basalt mines and distinctive salt-glazed pottery. The small town of Dornburg has three ducal castles to explore and landscaped gardens where Goethe wandered and pondered.
Grudge match
Germany would be sweet as revenge for the Euro 96 golden goal final when Oliver Bierhoff and Petr Kouba's blunder robbed them.
The politics
Though argumentative at club level - think Milan Baros and Rafa Benítez, Tomas Rosicky and Matthias Sammer, and Karel Poborsky walking out of Sparta Prague - Bruckner nurtured these players at youth level and commands too much respect for any dissent.
Supported by
Long-haired men with adolescent, wispy, metal-fan moustaches, who drink beer as if it's water, and their stoical, well-groomed partners.
Slogan on team coach
"Belief and a lion's strength, for victory and our fans"
The coach: Karel Bruckner
On his chalkboard
Ostensibly 4-4-2 but the flamboyant midfield of Poborsky, Rosicky, Tomas Galasek and Nedved plus two attacking full-backs in Tomas Ujfalusi and Zdenek Grygera means Petr Cech has loads to do. Nedved, coaxed out of retirement, lines up on the left but essentially has a free role to support the gargantuan Koller and the pacy Baros in attack.
In his closet
The elder statesman stuck to all-out attack and was sucker-punched by Greece in the Euro 2004 semi-final.
The players
Most likely to move to Bolton
Take your pick from the thirtysomething midfield and defence but 6ft 7in Jan Koller, the thinking man's Duncan Ferguson, would be the ultimate choice for Jussi Jaaskelainen's hoofs except that, as the Republic's record scorer, he might prove too prolific for Sam's tastes.
Oscar nominee
Nedved is considered Serie A's top showman which should be unbeatable but Milan Baros showed deft handling of the ball before scoring for Villa against Everton this season to accompany his repertoire of swan impressions.
King of the endorsements
Shampoo promoter Pavel Nedved cashed in on his European Footballer of the Year award in 2003 with a lucrative series of ads alongside David Beckham for Pepsi.
You'll be copying...
Nedved's trademark advertising hoarding leap after scoring and rapid trot around a handily-placed athletics track while pointing with both hands at his wife in the stands.
Nation sweating on
It's the fitness of Koller, who scored nine times in qualification but returned to action only on May 2 after seven months out with a ruptured cruciate ligament that keeps the lager flowing in Prague.
Rooney to have a grand on
A short-haired player other than Koller being picked for the team.
If they were shoes... Horse shoes
As ever, they're nailed on dark horses. You also feel they'll live a charmed life this summer - though that could all change if they're turned over. So simple yet so effective but can they last the course?
The stats
Fifa ranking 2nd Odds to win 33-1 World Cup finals record P30 W11 D5 L14 F44 A45 World Cup best Runners-up 1934, '62 Record in qualifying P14 W11 D0 L3
Group fixtures
USA June 12, Gelsenkirchen 5pm
Ghana June 17, Cologne 5pm
Italy June 22, Hamburg 3pm
The country
On the psychiatrist's couch
I'm cultured and quite devout but have long been troubled by envious looks from the neighbours. They used to come in here and try to take over but I have survived, shortened my name and now people are happy just to come and get munted on my munificent hospitality. Tell you what, though: I'd love a trip to the seaside.
What they eat
Land of a thousand dumplings. Cardiac busting Czech cuisine is dominated by knedliky which come in potato, bread, apple, liver and 996 other varieties.
What they watch
Pat a Mat is an animated series that has run for 30 years and features two incompetent handymen whose optimism and cheerfulness triumph over all obstacles. It's like a cerebral Chuckle Brothers for adults without the Yorkshire tomfoolery.
Anthem in brief: Kde domov muj
At the start of their anthem the Czechs are unsure of where they live. Then they discover a land that in natural beauty is unsurpassed and they decide to make a home in it, which pleases them mightily.
Well I never
Good King Wenceslas, patron saint of the Czech Republic, was actually a duke.
The squad
Goalkeepers
Petr Cech 1
Chelsea, England
Age 24, 40 caps
Jaromir Blazek 16
Sparta Prague
33, 10 caps
Antonin Kinsky 23
Saturn Moscow, Russia
31, 5 caps
Defenders
Zdenek Grygera 2
Ajax, Holland
26, 39 caps
Pavel Mares 3
Zenit St Petersburg, Rus
30, 8 caps
Marek Jankulovski 6
Milan, Italy
29, 46 caps
Martin Jiranek 13
Spartak Moscow, Russia
27, 22 caps
Tomas Ujfalusi 21
Fiorentina, Italy
28, 47 caps
David Rozehnal 22
Paris St-Germain, France
25, 20 caps
Midfielders
Tomas Galasek 4
Ajax, Holland
33, 49 caps
Radoslav Kovac 5
Spartak Moscow, Rus
26, 5 caps
Vladimir Smicer 7
Bordeaux, France
33, 80 caps
Karel Poborsky8
Ceske Budejovice
34, 113 caps
Tomas Rosicky10
Arsenal, England
25, 54 caps
Pavel Nedved 11
Juventus, Italy
33, 86 caps
David Jarolim 14
Hamburg, Germany
27, 2 caps
Jiri Stajner 17
Hannover 96, Germany
30, 19 caps
Jan Polak19
Nuremberg, Germany
25, 16 caps
Jaroslav Plasil 20
Monaco, France
24, 12 caps
Forwards
Jan Koller 9
Borussia Dortmund, Germany
33, 66 caps
Vratislav Lokvenc 12
Salzburg, Austria
32, 70 caps
Milan Baros 15
Aston Villa, England
24, 47 caps
Marek Heinz 18
Galatasaray, Turkey
28, 26 caps