Once powerhouses of the world game, Czechia have not appeared at a World Cup for 20 years. Now after two shootout victories, they are back.Czechia are back at their first World Cup in 20 years, looking to channel the spirit of great Czech teams from years gone by.Since the split of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic have qualified for every European Championships, but only one World Cup.In their current guise, they have only qualified for the tournament once, and failed to make it out of the group stage in a disappointing 2006 tournament.‌"The last two decades have been lacklustre in terms of what we've offered on the pitch," Zdenek Lukas of the Footglish podcast told the Mirror's Make Football Great Again podcast.At their last World Cup in 2006, the Czech Republic team boasted global stars Pavel Nedved, Karel Poborsky and Tomas Rosicky.This current team has a clutch of players who could impress, but none with the star power of a former Ballon d'Or winner like Nedved.‌Wolves centre-back Ladislav Krejci is the current captain. Tomas Soucek was stripped of the role, following a disappointing start to the World Cup qualifying campaign and an altercation with supporters following a 6-0 victory over Gibraltar that brought their qualifying campaign to a close.Krejci was on target twice in the play-offs and has also managed two goals in the Premier League for already relegated Wolves. From set-pieces, he will be a threat.Another set-piece threat will be West Ham’s Tomas Soucek. The 6ft 4ins midfielder has earned a reputation for being in the right place at the right time for the Hammers during his six years with the club.He now has more Premier League goals than any other Czech player having overtaken former Portsmouth and Liverpool midfielder Patrick Berger.‌"He is still one of the leaders even without the armband," Zdenek said about Soucek.Their main source of goals will likely be Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrick Schick. He has scored 25 goals in 52 caps for his country, including a wondergoal from the half-way line against Scotland at Hampden in Euro 2020.With a lack of top strikers in the game currently, and stars like Lewandowski and Osimhen playing for nations who did not qualify, many teams in North America will be without a top striker. Czech Republic will have no such problem thanks to Schick.‌He has also shown himself to be a player who enjoys tournament football, jointly winning the golden boot at the delayed Euro 2020, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.Other names familiar to Premier League fans will be Soucek's former West Ham teammate Vladimir Coufal and Tottenham’s Antonin Kinsky.Both victories in the play-offs to qualify came via penalty shootouts. In the semi-final, they fought back from 2-0 down in Prague to break Irish hearts. Even at home against Denmark, they were underdogs but still managed to prevail.‌Alongside Mexico, South Africa and South Korea, the team stand a good chance of progressing, though a fixture against Mexico at the Estadio Azteca looks a daunting prospect."It would be a miracle if we somehow manage to get anything from that game against Mexico," Zdenek said, acutely aware the fixture will feel like an away game.They will be led by veteran head coach Miroslav Koubek, who will become the second oldest head coach in World Cup history this summer, behind Curacao boss Dick Advocaat.Koubek was appointed in December 2025 ahead of the playoffs after a tough qualifying campaign. They finished in second place in Group L of UEFA qualifying and won five out of their eight games. But one of their two defeats was against the Faroe Islands, a nation of 53,000 people.‌Koubek has enjoyed a strong career in the Czech game, having previously won the top flight with Viktoria Plzen in 2015. He is likely to be pragmatic and rely heavily on set-pieces with this group of players.Content cannot be displayed without consent"We are running a lot and are good at heading the ball and set-pieces, but there’s no flair," Zdenek said, highlighting the grit shown in the Czech team to reach this point.As Czechoslovakia, the Czech team twice reached the World Cup final, in 1934 and 1962. The Czech Republic reached the Euros final in England in 1996 and the semi-final in 2004, where they would lose to eventual winner Greece. However, expectations for this tournament are far more modest.‌"We have to say first and foremost we are happy to make it to the tournament. If we make it out of the group that would be considered success," Zdenek added.Ranked below Mexico and South Korea in the world rankings, but above South Africa, they will have a strong chance with three teams progressing in most groups.Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by signing up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now!