Czechia vs Ireland Preview & Prediction | 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying (UEFA)
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Czechia have been perennial UEFA European Championship entrants but their FIFA World Cup record is much poorer as they welcome Ireland to Prague.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Not televised / US – FOX Sports
How to watch online: UK – Amazon Prime / US – Disney+
Key stats
- This is the first meeting between Czechia and the Republic of Ireland since a 1-1 friendly draw in Dublin in February 2012.
- Czechia are aiming to return to the FIFA World Cup™ for the first time in 20 years, having last appeared at Germany 2006 after securing qualification with a 2-0 aggregate play‑off victory over Norway.
- Czechia are competing in the play-offs for a second consecutive edition of the preliminary competition. Their quest to secure a place at Qatar 2022™ ended in the semi-finals following a 1-0 defeat to Sweden after extra time.
- Czechia have lost only three of their last 12 World Cup qualifying matches (W7 D2).
- Czechia are unbeaten in their last nine home World Cup qualifying matches (W6 D3).
- Czechia have kept seven clean sheets in their last 12 World Cup qualifying matches.
- The Republic of Ireland are aiming to seal a fourth FIFA World Cup™ appearance, having featured in the 1990, 1994 and 2002 editions.
- Since sealing their place at the 2002 finals with a 2-1 aggregate play‑off win over IR Iran, the Republic of Ireland have lost both of their subsequent play‑offs — against France in the 2010 qualifiers and Denmark in the 2018 campaign.
- The Republic of Ireland have won their last three World Cup qualifying matches; the last time they recorded four consecutive victories was in 2001.
Czechia vs Ireland prediction
Czechia head into this one on the back of a qualifying group phase in which they finished second behind Croatia but had been humiliated with a loss away to the Faroe Islands. They have played at every UEFA European Championships since becoming an independent nation ahead of EURO 96, but they have only managed one FIFA World Cup qualification in that time.
Ireland pulled off a couple of remarkable results to reach the playoffs with a 2-0 defeat of Portugal at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin being backed up by a thrilling 3-2 victory over Hungary in Budapest with a Troy Parrott hat-trick in dramatic circumstances.
Heimur Hallgrimsson is now getting a tune out of the Irish and they will make things awkward for the Czechs in a game that is expected to be decided by fine margins.
Czechia vs Ireland tip: Under 2.5 goals
