Czechia at the World Cup 2026: back after 20 years

Czechia are at a World Cup again, and almost nobody saw it coming. After a qualifying campaign that imploded with a humiliating home defeat to the Faroe Islands, the Czechs sacked coach Ivan Hašek and limped into the European playoffs. What followed in Prague was the stuff of fairytales: a 2-2 draw with the Republic of Ireland settled 4-3 on penalties, then a 2-2 draw with Denmark won 3-1 in another shootout. It is their first World Cup since 2006 — a 20-year wait that ended on nerve, not dominance.

The man who steadied the ship is an unlikely hero. Miroslav Koubek, a 74-year-old domestic veteran, was appointed only in December 2025 on a two-and-a-half-year deal with the sole brief of dragging the team through the playoffs. He preaches structure, defensive discipline and collective responsibility over possession — pragmatism dressed up as a plan, and it worked just enough when it mattered most.

There is genuine quality scattered through the squad. Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick remains the focal point, a clinical finisher who can win a tight game on one chance, while West Ham's Tomáš Souček brings physical authority and goals from midfield as captain. Ladislav Krejčí, who scored in both playoff legs, Vladimír Coufal and goalkeeper Matěj Kovář round out a side built to frustrate rather than dazzle. The concern is depth and rhythm: this was a team rebuilt on the fly, not a settled contender.

The draw handed Czechia a navigable but tricky Group A alongside co-hosts Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. Mexico, roared on by home crowds, are clear favourites to top it. That leaves Czechia scrapping with South Korea and an improving South Africa for second place — and, failing that, a shot at sneaking through as one of the eight best third-placed teams in the expanded 48-team format. Koubek's low-block, counter-punching approach is exactly the kind of profile that can steal a result or two and survive the group; going much deeper would be a surprise.

We are not pretending Czechia are title contenders — our model rates them a rank outsider for the trophy, and honestly the romance here is simply being back at all. But the round of 32 is a realistic target, and Group A is wide open behind Mexico. See how the simulations rate every Czechia scenario in our World Cup 2026 predictions, dig into the full profile on our Czechia team page, then run the group yourself in the match simulator.