Czech Republic: IrelandS Play-Off Opponent

The Republic of Ireland will play Czech Republic in the world Cup play-off semi-final in March. Here’s what we know about the team.

Current world ranking?

They are ranked 43rd in the world. That’s not much different from Hungary, but it does mean Ireland is the underdog. Czech Republic is 16 places above Ireland.

Who’s the coach?

Jaroslav Kosti is currently the coach. Ivan Hasek was the coach at the start of qualifying but was fired after a surprising 2-1 loss to Faroe Islands. kosti took over as interim coach and wants the job permanently, but it’s not guaranteed he’ll be in charge for the play-off.

Who are their key players?

They have several important players. Tomas Soucek, the captain, has played for West Ham for many years and is a key part of their team.

Patrik Schick, a striker for Bayer Leverkusen, is also a threat.He has scored 24 goals for his country.

Matej Kovar, a goalkeeper on loan from leverkusen at PSV, has started in some games. he has even played against Troy Parrott. The Czechs haven’t settled on a regular goalkeeper, so it’s unclear who will start in goal.

They might have one former League of Ireland player in their squad: Vítezslav Jaros,who used to play for st Patrick’s Athletic,has been capped.

What are they saying?

Lukas Provod, who plays for Slavia Prague, said about the draw: “Ireland is a very unpleasant and tenacious opponent, which we had the chance to see in their last qualifying match in Hungary.”

“I believe that our great advantage will be the home environment, we will manage the match and thus get closer to our common and dream goal, which is to advance to the World cup.”

How did they reach the play-offs?

It wasn’t easy. They were expected to finish in the top two of a group with Croatia, Montenegro, the Faroe Islands, and Gibraltar.

They drew with Croatia but lost to Faroe Islands, a result that caused problems for their qualification hopes.