Czechia — 2026 World Cup Squad

There is no glamour in the Czech approach, and that is precisely the point. This is a team that wants to make your tournament miserable: compact lines, a midfield that never stops running, and a counter-attack that arrives the moment you overcommit. Drawn into Group A with the hosts, they have found the kind of stage where stubbornness travels further than star power.

The danger, as ever, lives up front in Patrik Schick. The Leverkusen striker does not need much, just a yard of space and a clean look, and he will put it away with the calm of a man who has done it a hundred times. Adam Hložek gives him a restless, mobile partner from Hoffenheim, dropping and drifting to pull defenders out of shape. Behind that, the spine is sturdier than outsiders assume: Jindřich Staněk has become a genuinely commanding presence in the Slavia Prague goal, while Ladislav Krejčí brings unfussy composure on the ball from Wolves.

What ties it together is a Hoffenheim-heavy backbone, with Vladimír Coufal and Robin Hranáč both based there. Keep Schick healthy and this quietly competent group could gatecrash the knockouts.