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Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky urges youngsters to be confident

Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky has urged the team's younger players not to be overawed by opponents as they look to progress at Euro 2016.

A late 1-0 defeat to defending champions Spain in their opening fixture was a blow after a resolute defensive display, but Rosicky believes it was an important learning experience for the youngsters.

"We were telling everybody there's no reason to be disappointed, because we gave Spain an incredibly hard time," the 35-year-old told a news conference.

Rosicky, who became his country's oldest participant at the European Championship having already set the record for being the youngest player 16 years ago, added: "They sometimes have to go through these things themselves.

"They've never played against players like [Andres] Iniesta. They've only seen these players on TV. That's the difference.

"These young players were very surprised about playing against world-class players.

"They have to go through it. It is part of the development of a footballer, and they have to be more self-confident if we are going to hurt big opponents."

Czech Republic's next Group D opponents are Croatia, who beat Turkey in their opening game.

"It'll be a hard match against another very technical team," Rosicky added.

"It will be very similar to the Spain game because Croatia's quality is huge, but we're glad to have the chance to show more in an attacking way."

Victory for Croatia would put them through to the knockout stage.

Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic said: "It's our key game. If we win, we go to the second round -- and I hope we can play as we did against Turkey.

"We watched the Czechs against Spain. They are very well organised, and the best player they have is Rosicky.

"We have to play the best we can."

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