Czechia vs Ireland: 2026 World Cup Qualification Semi-final Preview

Thursday night's host, Czechia, last reached the World Cup finals twenty years ago in Germany, where they managed just one win and exited the tournament in the group stage, having narrowly missed out on participating in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

74-year-old manager Miroslav Koubek will be eager to take his nation to North America this summer, as they boast a home advantage over their opponents, Ireland, this Thursday night.

As for the Irish, it has been nothing short of disastrous over the past ten years. The boys in green have failed to qualify for a major tournament since the 2016 Euros in France. It has been downhill since then.

However, Troy Parrott’s heroics against Portugal and Hungary in their final two games in their qualifying group have united the nation, bringing a sense of hope that Irish football has not had in a long time.

Either nation is just two wins away from a World Cup summer in North America; however, one nation’s World Cup dreams will be crushed come Thursday night.

The winner of this semi-final will face the winners of North Macedonia or Denmark in the qualifier final, with the winner of that tie cementing their spot at the World Cup this summer.

Teams News

Czechia

Goalkeepers Jindrich Stanek and Vitezslav Jaros are both absent for Czechia, meaning Matej Kovar of PSV Eindhoven takes the number one spot.

Former Burnley and Watford striker Matej Vydra is also absent due to an injury, as well as his fellow attacker Adam Hlozek, who is still recovering from a calf injury he picked up in January.

Ireland

Heimir Hallgrimsson is set to be without Evan Ferguson due to injury. Sammie Szmodics has been called up in place of the on-loan Roma forward.

Usual mainstays in the likes of Callum O’Dowda and Mark Sykes are sidelined due to recent injuries.

Harvey Vale of Queens Park Rangers has been handed his first Ireland international call-up. The twenty-two-year-old grabbed two assists last Saturday in QPR’s emphatic 6-1 thrashing over Portsmouth, and is eligible to play for Ireland due to his grandfather being a County Kerry Native.

Likely Lineups

Czechia

Kovar; Coufal, Vitik, Krejci, Jurasek; Cerv, Soucek, Provod, Sulc, Karabec; Schick

Ireland

Kelleher; O'Brien, Collins, O'Shea; Coleman, Browne, Molumby, Manning; Vale, Azaz; Parrott

Key Players

Patrik Schick - Czechia

The imposing Czechia forward has been a consistently solid goal getter for Bayer Leverkusen since he arrived in Germany in 2020.

Schick has found the back of the net on 96 occasions in only 202 matches; his impressive domestic goal-to-game ratio also carries over to international level as he has scored 24 times in just 50 caps for his nation.

The Irish defence has a handful on their hands in Schick, a dominant force in the air, like several of his compatriots; the backline will need the midfield and wide players to limit the amount of Czech balls flying into the box.

Troy Parrott - Ireland

After his dramatic heroics in Budapest, scoring a hat-trick, including a last-minute winner. The hopes of a nation lie on the shoulders of the Dublin native.

Parrott is having the season of his life in the Netherlands with AZ Alkmaar, bagging 28 goals, including eight assists, in 41 appearances. This form has generated interest amongst multiple teams across Europe and the Premier League.

The red-hot Irishman has already proven he can score in Prague, as AZ Alkmaar defeated Sparta Prague 4-0 in the Conference League two weeks ago. Hallgrimsson, along with the Irish faithful, will be hoping for more of the same this Thursday night.

Match Details

Where is the game being played?

Fortuna Arena, in Czechias capital Prague, plays host to the matchup.

What time is kick-off?

The game takes place on Thursday, the 26th of March, 19:45 GMT.

Where can I watch?

The game will be available to stream on Amazon Prime UK, and will be shown live on RTE 2 for viewers in Ireland.

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