An evacuation slide inflated by mistake stopped the Czech Republic on their way to a Euro 2020 play-off game against the Netherlands in Budapest, the team said Saturday.The Czechs, qualified as the third-best team in Group D, are facing Group C winners the Netherlands at the Puskas Arena in a last-16 game on Sunday evening.The Czech national team will practice in Prague contrary to the original plans due to the technical issues of the plane and will travel to Budapest later in the early evening today. https://t.co/0vqHclX8LU— Czech Football National Team (@ceskarepre_eng) June 26, 2021 The players were already sitting on the special plane on Saturday morning, but they had to get off over the bizarre defect, as midfielder Alex Kral.”I have experienced delayed flights, postponed flights, even cancelled flights because of the coronavirus. But this is my first flight that didn’t happen because of an evacuation slide inflated by mistake.” The team management was a bit more serious about the incident, with team spokesman Petr Sedivy issuing a statement.”Due to technical problems on the plane, the Czech national football team will fly to Budapest in the afternoon.”Zažil jsem zpoždění letu, přesunutí také, dokonce i zrušení kvůli korona viru. Ale neodletět kvůli omylem nafouknuté skluzavce, to je poprvé 🎢😅🤙🏽 #ceskarepre #EURO #SkluzavkyASkákacíHrady pic.twitter.com/ZTaE9eNROX— Alex Král (@alexkralcz) June 26, 2021 Based in Prague after having to move its base camp from Edinburgh over strict coronavirus rules in Scotland, the team will hold the official training session at a local stadium on Saturday.The winner of Sunday’s game will face either Wales or Denmark in the quarter-finals on July 3.© Agence France-Presse
