During Euro 2004 it has taken him just a fortnight.

The five goals the Liverpool striker has scored for the Czech Republic during the last four games is precisely half the amount he has contributed during his entire Premiership career.

And while his achievements here have helped his country towards the semi-finalsof this tournament, they have also belatedlyelevated him to the ranks of centre forwards who the Premiership will now take seriously.

Baros has always had a better record for his country than his club.

His international tallynow stands at a remarkable 21 goals in 29 appearances, which is a better ratio than his Liverpool colleague Michael Owen.

He contributed two more as the Czechs moved into the semi-final. They had played poorly by their own standards during a goalless first half, but when Jan Koller rose to head a Karel Poborksy cornerpast Tomas Sorensen in the 49th minute it gave them the chance to spread their wings.

Poborksy - once a failure at Manchester United- was the creator again in the 63rd minute and the 32-year-old's pass between left back and centre back was exquisite.

It deserved a finish to match and Baros obliged, waiting for Sorensen to go to ground before " 3 (Czech Republic) : 0 (Denmark)" lifting the ball over the Aston Villa goalkeeper and into the net.

In that moment, Baros secured his country a place in the last four against Greece - and he struck again within two minutes. This time the architect was the wonderful Pavel Nedved.

Baros collected his pass down the inside left channel and beat defender Martin Laursen with one touch before firing a left-foot shot high into the goal from just inside the penalty area.

It was a super goal, one fit to take Baros to the top of the tournament's scoring chartsand to show the rest of Europe that this is a championship the Czechs are capable of winning. With England, Spain, Italy and France all nursing wounds at home, the Czechs are the most able team left in the tournament.

All that remains to be seen is if their nerve holds as the pressure rises a little further over the coming days.

Baros said: 'Greece are a good side and they can make it hard for us. But we are getting more and more confident and we believe we can go all the way.

'If someone had told me before the tournament that I would have scored five goals I would not have believed them.

'But I did everything to be ready for this tournament and I am very happy with our success and my goals. I have saved my energy for this. If I play at Liverpool more, then I can do this for them next season. I have just spent too long on the bench at Liverpool.' The Czechs were desperately poor in the first half and would have fallen behind had Denmark had the attacking intelligence to back up the possessionwon for them by Thomas Gravesen and Christian Poulsen.

Coach Karel Bruckner, though, need not have worried. He has match winners in his team, players who can make a crucial difference.