Czechs in shock after World Cup exit

PRAGUE, June 23 (Reuters) Soccer-mad Czech Republic was in shock today after the national team were unceremoniously dumped out of the World Cup finals after the group stage of the tournament.

''The End,'' blared the banner headline in three separate dailies after the Czechs lost 2-0 to Italy yesterday.

The Czechs started the tournament with a roaring 3-0 defeat of the United States, raising already high expectations.

But a hamstring injury to striker Jan Koller in the first half of that game ended up defining the Czechs' heart-breaking experience in Germany, and the team limped to defeats against Ghana and Italy.

In the end, they finished a distant third in Group E, taking only three points from three matches.

''A Football Dream Blown Apart,'' said the daily Blesk.

All of the main dailies -- who usually try to outdo each other with outrageous headlines and photos -- showed a picture of a solemn Pavel Nedved, the team's skipper hunched over on one knee after the game, head bent and staring into the ground.

''A Bitter End,'' was the daily Mlada Fronta Dnes's verdict on the front page of its soccer section.

Nedved, the 2003 European Footballer of the Year, was one of the few bright spots in the match against Italy, testing Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon several times with long-range efforts.

REUTERS DH RK1705