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Cech - My Euro 2016 motivation

Petr Cech says it would be "special” for the Czech Republic to qualify for next summer’s European Championship in France.

Pavel Vrba’s side go into upcoming qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Latvia occupying second spot in Group A, three points clear of the third-placed Netherlands with four matches to play.

Arsenal’s No 33 has featured at Euro 2004, 2008 and 2012 and says he is determined to help his nation reach next summer’s tournament.

"Ever since I was 16 I’ve played in every single European Championship at every level so I hope that run will continue"

“Since I joined the national team, I’ve never missed a European Championship,” Cech told the Arsenal Magazine. “I’ve always qualified.

“Ever since I was 16 I’ve played in every single European Championship at every level so I hope that run will continue. I used to play in France and it would be special for me to play the Euros there.

“We had an absolutely brilliant start to the campaign," added Cech. "We won our first four games, including matches against Holland and in Turkey.

“Unfortunately we’ve dropped points in the last two games - we drew at home against Latvia, which was a blow because we had a lot of chances. In our last game we played Iceland away and although we went 1-0 up, we lost the match.

“I think this is the game we look back at and can have regrets because if we had got a point or three, it would have put ourselves much closer to our target.

“We complicated our situation a little bit but we are still second and have four games to play. I believe that we have the team to qualify and hopefully we will prove it.”

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The September edition of the Arsenal Magazine is out now

The September edition of the Arsenal Magazine is out now