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Czech Republic boss Karel Bruckner hailed his team's FIFA World Cup™ play-off victory against Norway as the biggest achievement of his coaching career.

His side edged the second leg in Prague 1-0 to cement their identical advantage from the first leg and seal their passage to next year's finals in Germany. It will be the first time the Czech Republic have featured in football's world showpiece since the break-up of Czechoslovakia and Bruckner believes the entire nation should be proud.

"This play-off was the most important match of my career, it was my biggest success as a coach," he said. "I want to congratulate all my players. They've been a great compliment to the country."

Norway attacked from the outset as they sought to level the tie early and although Tomas Rosicky's 35th-minute strike gave the Czechs some breathing space, Bruckner insisted the game was too tight for him to think about celebrating until the very end.

"I usually make my match analysis one day after having watched the match but I can honestly say this was play-off hell," he said. "It was quite difficult for us - 1-0 is not a secure result until the end of the match.

"Norway are a strong team. We knew that beforehand and in the play-offs there are no easy opponents. It could have been tied in two seconds so it was very important for us to play from kick-off until the final whistle, and in the second half our players began to lose their ability."

Bruckner heaped praise on match-winner Rosicky, whom he revealed was doubtful for the second leg. "He wasn't 100 per cent fit and I really admire him," said Bruckner. "It's a big miracle that he played, never mind scoring a goal."

At this stage, the Czech coach refused to be drawn on the UEFA EURO 2004 semi-finalists' chances of further success in Germany. However, he did note that Juventus star Pavel Nedved, who came out of international retirement for the play-off, would be a huge asset for them.

"I haven't thought about it (Germany 2006) yet but we do have a strong midfield line-up," Bruckner added. "I think Pavel Nedved was a player in the right place at the right time for us but only he can answer (whether he will be available for the World Cup)."

Norway coach Age Hareide was gracious in defeat after his side's FIFA World Cup hopes were extinguished, and admitted the Czech Republic were "too good" for his team over the two legs.

"I would like to congratulate the Czechs on their victory and on their path to Germany," he said. "I think they will do very well in the finals as they are a fantastic team and probably capable of winning the tournament. It is a shame we missed so many chances in the second half but the Czechs played so well. They are a fantastic team and were too good for us even though we worked hard and gave it our all."

The visitors started well as they sought the goal which would have brought them level in the tie. "We had a few early chances before we started to stumble," Hareide said. "We changed our formation at the start of the second half and we played really well. We created lots of chances and I am very proud of my team.

"We battled really well, we had many chances and I feel we have something to build on when we get back to Norway," he added. "We can now look forward to and work hard to ensure we qualify for the European Championship in 2008. I am very optimistic for the future."

Norway must have felt their chances of qualification were non-existent when Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech pulled off a stunning block to keep out a second-half header from striker John Carew. "It was a fantastic save from Cech which kept us out of the game," Hareide admitted. "He is a world-class keeper in a world-class team."

Reuters