Czechia at the World Cup 2026: Squad, results, group and history

Czechia bowed out in the group stage in 2006 in their only previous FIFA World Cup finals as an independent nation, and have also fallen at the first hurdle in 2026.

Miroslav Koubek's side, led by captain Ladislav Krejčí, lost to South Korea in their first game and were then held by South Africa before defeat by co-hosts Mexico in their final Group A fixture.

Below you will find everything you need to know about Czechia at the 2026 World Cup: their results, squad, qualifying record, key players, coach and tournament history.

Czechia at the World Cup 2026: At a glance

Coach: Miroslav Koubek
Captain: Ladislav Krejčí
World Cup appearances: 10
Best finish: Runners-up (1934, 1962 – as Czechoslovakia)

Czechia's World Cup matches

Group A

12 June: South Korea 2-1 Czechia (Guadalajara)
18 June: Czechia 1-1 South Africa (Atlanta)
25 June: Czechia 0-3 Mexico (Mexico City)

Czechia's World Cup squad

Tomáš Souček and captain Ladislav Krejčí provided the solid spine to Czechia’s 26-man World Cup squad while imposing spearhead Patrik Schick is their go-to goalscorer.

How Czechia qualified for the World Cup

Second place in Group L: W5 D1 L2 F18 A8

Czechia 2-1 Faroe Islands
Gibraltar 0-4 Czechia
Czechia 2-0 Montenegro
Croatia 5-1 Czechia
Montenegro 0-2 Czechia
Czechia 0-0 Croatia
Faroe Islands 2-1 Czechia
Czechia 6-0 Gibraltar

Play-off semi-finals
Czechia 2-2 Republic of Ireland (Czechia win 4-3 on pens)

Play-off final
Czechia 2-2 Denmark (Czechia win 3-1 on pens)

Top scorer: Patrik Schick (5 goals)

Czechia coach: Miroslav Koubek

Hired in December 2025, the 74-year-old Koubek steered Czechia through two play-off shoot-outs to reach their first World Cup finals since 2006. A goalkeeper who ended his playing career at Sparta Praha, Koubek’s long coaching career includes three spells at Viktoria Plzeň, during the second of which (in 2014/15) he led the club to the Czech title.

Czechia captain: Ladislav Krejčí

Not to be confused with the midfielder with the same name who played over 40 games for Czechia, the current team captain is a central defender who spent the 2025/26 season with Wolves in England. A two-time Czech champion with Sparta Praha, the 27-year-old was chosen as Czechia captain in March 2026.

Czechia's World Cup history 

Most appearances: Ladislav Novák (12)
Top scorer: Oldřich Nejedlý (7)
Best performance: Runners-up (1934, 1962 – as Czechoslovakia)
World Cup 2022: Did not qualify

Czechoslovakia were runners-up at the second and seventh World Cup finals, and famously won the UEFA European Championship in 1976, but the independent Czechia has had less impact in the World Cup. Prior to reaching the 2026 finals, they had only qualified for the 2006 World Cup, and failed to make it through the group stage.

Czechia's UEFA Nations League fixtures: Group A3

26 September: Czechia vs Croatia (20:45)
29 September: Czechia vs England (20:45)
3 October: Spain vs Czechia (20:45)
6 October: England vs Czechia (20:45)
12 November: Czechia vs Spain (20:45)
15 November: Croatia vs Czechia (20:45)

All times CET.