IF Karel Poborsky didn't know the meaning of `overnight sensation' - be it in Czech or in English - he did yesterday.
The man whose audacious chip beat Portugal goalkeeper Vitor Baia at Villa Park, to guide Euro96 rank outsiders the Czech Republic into the last four, quickly found fame comes with a flash-gun and microphone.
Poborsky's goal is being labelled as one of the goals of the tournament and all the talk at the Preston hotel where the Czechs are based was where next for the Slavia Prague midfielder.
Newcastle goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek immediately alerted Premiership scouts. ``I see no reason why Karel couldn't do an excellent job for a top English club,'' said Srnicek. Coach Dusan Uhrin will need Poborsky at his very best with four top players suspended against France. A red card for defender Radoslav Latal in the quarter-final rules him out, while three others are banned after their second bookings - Jan Suchoparek, Pavel Kuka and Radjek Bejbl.
German referee Hellmut Krug's handling of the match may have been over-the-top but coach Uhrin would say only: ``I won't evaluate the referee's performance but clearly the suspensions will influence the semi-final.''
Uhrin also has a couple of injury worries over Jiri Nemec and Patrik Berger. Pavel Nedved can return after suspension while Lubos Kubik will surely be recalled.
The Czechs freely admit they have already exceeded all their expectations and FA president Frantisek Chvalovsky went to the length of saying their progress was a huge blow for Euro96 organisers.
``We are a negative attraction for them and I am sure Old Trafford will not be a sell-out on Wednesday.
``We have only asked for 2000 tickets in addition to those fans that are already over here.''
Meanwhile, Portugal coach Antonio Oliveira said his young team had learnt a great deal at Euro96 and were better equipped for the 1998 World Cup qualifiers starting in August.
``We are leaving here stronger, more capable, more mature and better prepared for the future,'' he said.
Oliveira said he had never considered his team favourites for the championship but ``that we were capable of reaching a final''. He added that his country's objective was to be on a par with the top football nations of the world, to come out from under the shadow of neighbours Spain.
``We want to prove that Portuguese football exists. We will reinforce those pretentions in the future, we have the qualities for that,'' he said.
``We believe we could do no more (than we did in this tournament), but we are also conscious that in the future we do have to do more.''
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