Prague (AFP) – Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick will lead the Czech Republic attack at the World Cup as spearhead of a 26-man squad announced in Prague on Sunday.
Issued on: 31/05/2026 - 19:30
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The Czech Republic face Mexico, South Africa and South Korea in Group A in only their second World Cup appearance since becoming an independent country after a 1993 split with Slovakia.At the 2006 World Cup the Czechs bowed out after the group stage with a team featuring Petr Cech, Pavel Nedved, Tomas Rosicky and Milan Baros.Czech coach Miroslav Koubek said earlier Group A was "extremely tough", voicing concerns about the climate especially in Mexico where the Czechs will play two games."Our goal is to reach the play-offs. That would be a success," added Koubek, who is 74.The 30-year-old injury-prone Schick scored 16 goals in 28 German Bundesliga games last season.In the national team, for which he has scored 25 times in 52 games, he made a mark particularly as the top scorer of Euro 2020 with five goals alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.Koubek also called up two players from teams relegated from the Premier League -- Wolverhampton defender Ladislav Krejci and West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek.But he left out in-form Tottenham goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, who helped Spurs narrowly escape relegation.Krejci replaced Soucek as the Czech Republic captain this year after Soucek had fallen out of favour with fans following a fumbled attempt to apologise for a lacklustre qualifying campaign including a loss to the Faroe Islands.The Czechs clinched the World Cup berth after edging both Ireland and Denmark on penalties in the March qualifying play-offs.The playmaking duty at the World Cup will largely rest on Lyon midfielder Pavel Sulc with 11 goals in Ligue 1 last season. Schick, Soucek, Sulc and several others sat out a friendly in which the Czechs beat Kosovo 2-1 in Prague on Sunday.Koubek called up 17-year-old Sparta Prague midfielder Hugo Sochurek and three other players who made their national team debut against Kosovo.
