Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal's Czechia survived a scare from the Faroe Islands to get their FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign off to a winning start on Saturday evening.
The Czechs dominated possession and opportunities, but were five minutes away from behind held to a frustrating 1-1 draw in Hradec Králové until Patrik Schick found a late winner.
West Ham United duo Souček and Coufal both started - Souček winning his 78th senior cap and Coufal his 52nd - and all seemed to be going to plan when Bayer Leverkusen forward Schick gave them a 25th minute lead.
The home side could not find the second goal to double their lead though, and were punished seven minutes from time by Gunnar Vatnhamar's leveller.
Just as the Faroese looked to be on course to claim a famous point, Schick struck again to claim a 2-1 victory for Czechia.
Their side sit second in the early table, with Montenegro also winning their Group L opener on Saturday, 3-1 over Gibraltar.
Czechia return to action on Tuesday, when they travel to Faro in Portugal to face Gibraltar.
