THE Czech Republic’s preparations were in turmoil after their flight from Prague to Budapest was postponed because of an “accidentally inflated slide”.
Jaroslav Silhavy’s side were due to fly to the Hungarian capital this morning for Sunday’s last-16 clash with Holland.
But it was delayed last-minute until the evening, with midfielder Alex Kral saying it was caused by an evacuation slide inflating by mistake.
He tweeted: “I’ve experienced flight delays, relocations as well, even cancellations due to coronavirus.
“But not to fly due to an accidentally inflated slide, this is the first time.”
Kral added photos of the slide from inside and outside the plane, alongside a “slidesandjumpingcastles” hashtag.
However, this was refuted by a national team spokesman.
They said: “The cancellation of the flight was not an accidentally inflated slide, but technical problems with closing the aircraft door.”
They were hoping to train in the Puskas Arena this afternoon but instead had to finish their preparations at their Prague base.
The Czechs were supposed to have a camp in Edinburgh for their group games against Scotland, England and Croatia.
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But this was cancelled last minute due to the threat of quarantine for the squad.
Boss Silhavy is also sweating on the fitness of captain Vladimir Darida, their most experienced player with 75 caps.
The attacking midfielder was injured during Friday’s training and remained with the physios on Friday.
Either Antonin Barak or the more defensive Kral could replace him.
And the flight chaos is the last thing star man Patrik Schick needs as they look to upset the odds.
Their top scorer with three goals revealed that the constant travelling so far has been hellish — because he is scared of flying.
Meanwhile, Czech fans have been pouring into Budapest in their droves.
The Puskas Arena is allowed to welcome capacity crowds, with the Dutch expected to be heavily outnumbered.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
