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Sport

Michael Yokhin

Czechia squad World Cup 2026: Miroslav Koubek's 26-man selection to face South Korea

Miroslav Koubek Czech Republic World Cup Viktoria Plzen (Person) World Cup 2026 Tomas Soucek Patrik Schick the World Cup DF GK (Organization)

Players of Czechia pose for a photo prior to a match before the international friendly match against Guatemala at Sports Illustrated Stadium .

Czech Republic are back after a lengthy absence. World Cup 2026 is the first edition of this tournament that they have qualified for in exactly 20 years – which comes as some surprise, given that they're regulars in the European Championship, and though they know they won't be among the favourites, Miroslav Koubek's will want to spring some surprises.

There's every chance they can if they get through to the next round – and that's possible given they're in Group A with Mexico, South Africa and South Korea.

There are no major surprises when it comes to this squad: the spine of the side sees Matej Kovar in goal, Tomas Holes ahead in defence, Tomas Soucek in the centre of the park, and Patrik Schick leading the line.

Those key stars have each made the squad this time, along with Adam Hlozek and Pavel Sulc, while defenders Ladislav Krejci and Lukas Provod are both players to watch, too.

Perhaps the biggest name missing out on a place is Vítezslav Jaros, at Ajax on loan from Liverpool, and not deemed to be one of the top seven goalkeepers in the country – Tottenham's Antonin Kinsky isn't either and remains uncapped.

This may be the first time since the days of Tomas Rosicky and Petr Cech that the Czechs grace the world stage with their presence, but with a couple of quarter-finals under their belt at the Euros since then, they'll be confident of upsetting the odds.

Mood

Czech Republic have leaders everywhere – Matej Kovar in goal, Ladislav Krejci in defence, Soucek in midfield, Pavel Sulc as a playmaker and Patrik Schick [pictured] in attack form a solid backbone (Image credit: Getty Images)

As mentioned, Czech Republic have qualified for every European Championship since reaching the final in 1996. Quite remarkably, they’d only made it to one World Cup during that same period. That was in 2006, when a side led by Pavel Nedved were considered to be dark horses by many, yet crashed out in the group stage.

Now, 20 years on, they’re back against all odds. The squad is much less talented and expectations are lower, but that might actually work in their favour. This team has no superstars, but they work together under new boss Miroslav Koubek.

Squad

Czech Republic World Cup 2026 squad

GK: Matěj Kovář (PSV Eindhoven)
GK: Jindřich Staněk (Slavia Prague)
GK: Lukáš Horníček (Braga)
DF: David Zima (Slavia Prague)
DF: Tomáš Holeš (Slavia Prague)
DF: Robin Hranáč (TSG Hoffenheim)
DF: Vladimír Coufal (TSG Hoffenheim)
DF: Štěpán Chaloupek (Slavia Prague)
DF: Ladislav Krejčí (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
DF: David Jurásek (Slavia Prague)
DF: Jaroslav Zelený (Sparta Prague)
DF: David Douděra (Slavia Prague)
MF: Vladimír Darida (Hradec Králové)
MF: Lukáš Červ (Viktoria Plzeň)
MF: Lukáš Provod (Slavia Prague)
MF: Michal Sadílek (Slavia Prague)
MF: Tomáš Souček (West Ham United)
MF: Alexandr Sojka (Viktoria Plzeň)
MF: Hugo Sochůrek (Sparta Prague)
FW: Adam Hložek (TSG Hoffenheim)
FW: Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen)
FW: Jan Kuchta (Sparta Prague)
FW: Mojmír Chytil (Slavia Prague)
FW: Pavel Šulc (Lyon)
FW: Tomáš Chorý (Slavia Prague)
FW: Denis Višinský (Viktoria Plzeň)

Fixtures and results

Fixtures

June 12, 2026: South Korea vs Czech Republic , Estadio Akron , Zapopan, Mexico
June 18, 2026: Czech Republic vs South Africa , Mercedes-Benz Stadium , Atlanta, United States
June 25, 2026: Czech Republic vs Mexico , Estadio Azteca , Mexico City, Mexico
September 26, 2026: Czech Republic vs Croatia , TBD
September 29, 2026: Czech Republic vs England , TBD
October 03, 2026: Spain vs Czech Republic , TBD
October 06, 2026: England vs Czech Republic , TBD
November 12, 2026: Czech Republic vs Spain , TBD
November 15, 2026: Croatia vs Czech Republic , TBD

Who is Czech Republic's manager?

Czech Republic manager Miroslav Koubek will become the oldest manager ever at a World Cup, but only for three days until Dick Advocaat's first World Cup game with Curacao on June 14 (Image credit: Getty Images)

The managerial career of 74-year-old Czech Republic boss Miroslav Koubek began in 1983. The Prague-born former goalkeeper has worked almost exclusively in what is now the Czech Republic, winning the league title as a relative veteran in 2015 during his second spell with Viktoria Plzen.

Subsequent periods as head coach of Bohemians and Hradec Kralove were followed by an impressive third stint in charge of Plzen, which ultimately led to Koubek's appointment as national team coach.

The Czechs' failure to qualify automatically for the World Cup spelled the end for former boss Ivan Hasek. Jaroslav Kostl oversaw the 6-0 win over Gibraltar in November before Koubek was given the job on a permanent basis.

He will become the oldest manager in World Cup history – South Africa’s Hugo Broos will hold the record for just seven hours, surpassing former Greece boss Otto Rehhagel, before Czech Republic play later on the tournament’s opening day.

But Koubek will hold the record for just three days, until Dick Advocaat manages Curacao in their first match on June 14.

Czech Republic's Star Player

Who is Czech Republic's star player?

Patrik Schick of Czech Republic (Image credit: Getty Images)

Soucek is the Czech Republic captain and one of the most recognisable names to fans of the Premier League, but it's hard to look past the goalscoring record of Patrik Schick when looking for the player most likely to make an impact at World Cup 2026.

Now 30 years old, the imposing Bayer Leverkusen striker has perhaps fallen slightly short of the expectations many observers had for his international career, primarily because of injury and his team's lack of World Cup presence, but 24 goals in 50 appearances tells its own story.

Schick is a treble winner with Leverkusen and an occasional scorer of spectacular goals. He netted four times in the qualifying group and another couple in March would go a long way.