Penalty Kick Gives Czechs 1-0 Victory Over Austrians : Soccer: Czechs move into the second round of Cup finals with a victory over their arch rival and neighbor.

Czechoslovakia reached the second round of the World Cup finals today by beating its arch rival and neighbor Austria 1-0.

A 30th-minute penalty kick by Michal Bilek was enough to give the Czechoslovaks four points from their first two games.

With one Group A match remaining for each team, Czechoslovakia and unbeaten hosts Italy are assured of the top two qualifying places and face each other for the honor of the number one place.

Austria must beat the United States by a huge score Tuesday to have any chance of gaining the final 16.

Czechoslovakia, which crushed the United States 5-1 in its opening game, was expected to defend and let the Austrians bring the game to them.

But Coach Jozef Venglos’ side took the initiative and showed its attacking skills in the first half.

Bilek coolly slotted the penalty kick home. The penalty was called after Austrian goalkeeper Klaus Lindenberger brought down midfielder Jozef Chovanec, who was carried off with an injury to his right leg.

The Austrians tried to move forward in the second half but the Czechoslovak defense, directed by Jan Kocian and Miroslav Kadlec, rarely gave them an opportunity to create chances.

Ivo Knoflicek, who did not play in any of the qualifying games after defecting to the West in 1988, looked dangerous with his deceptive change of pace.

Protecting their one-goal lead, the Czechoslovaks resorted to a more defensive approach after the interval. But they still looked sharper in front of goal than Austria.

Austrian Coach Josef Hickersberger was furious about his team’s dismal showing, particularly the dreadful back pass by defender Anton Pfeffer which led to Czechoslovakia’s goal.

“We beat ourselves with a disastrous back pass which should not be seen at any World Cup tournament,” he said. “After that we were struggling to get back on terms.”

Czechoslovakia outplayed Austria for long periods today and dominated the midfield.

Czechoslovakia’s victory ended a poor World Cup run in which the team has failed to progress beyond the group stages since 1962 when it reached final before losing to Brazil.

The only other team to have advanced so far is Cameroon, which has scored two straight wins in Group B.

Cameroon pulled off another upset Thursday by beating Romania, 2-1. That victory followed a stunning upset of defending champion Argentina in Cameroon’s opening game.

On Saturday, England and the Netherlands will play each other at Cagliari amid concerns over fan hooliganism. Both countries opened World Cup competition with 1-1 ties, England deadlocking with Ireland and the Netherlands with Egypt.