For 52 minutes, the Czech Republic didn’t look like they were going to be able to offer much resistance to Russia. Their midfield was overrun, their wide players didn’t look up for the game and their defense looked out of sorts. The Czechs haven’t exactly fixed all of those problems, but they’ve still been able to pull themselves back into the game with a nice goal. A 2-0 Russian lead that appeared to be leading to a rout is now just a 2-1 Russian lead.
Russia Vs. Czech Republic, Euro 2012: Vaclav Pilar Scores For Czechs
Russia’s defense got burned in the 52nd minute as they attempted to catch Vaclav Pilar offside on a run from deep, but they didn’t step quickly enough. He was kept easily onside on a great through ball by Jaroslav Plasil, and he made the most of it, rounding Vyacheslav Malafeev before he placed an excellent finish into the goal.
It would still be stunning if Russia failed to win the match, but at the very least, Pilar has made things interesting.
We have live coverage of the game in our Russia vs. Czech Republic, Euro 2012 StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.
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