Czech footballers fight back to overcome Ireland in penalty shootout
Czechia have moved a step closer to reaching international football’s biggest showcase for the first time in two decades. Following a hard-fought victory over Ireland on Thursday, the Czechs will now host Denmark on Tuesday to decide a place at this summer’s World Cup in North America.
Czech fans were ecstatic when Jan Kliment scored the Czech Republic’s fifth and final penalty to win Thursday night’s World Cup playoffs semi-final for the hosts at Prague’s Fortuna Arena.
Victory was reward for a lot of hard work after the Czechs were forced to fight back when Ireland took a 2:0 lead inside 23 minutes.
Home manager Miroslav Koubek praised his charges.
“I said it was going to be big, and it was – for us with a good ending, because we had to demonstrate high mental readiness for this game, and high fighting spirit. Hats off to the players. We showed determination and never give up. Losing 2:0 is almost an irresolvable situation at international level, but we resolved it.”
One of the heroes of the hour for the Czechs was captain Ladislav Krejčí. He won the first half penalty that gave his team a lifeline before making the score 2:2 in the dying minutes, forcing the tie to extra time and then penalties.
The defender said it was not entirely surprising that the first period of the game didn’t go the Czechs’ way, given it was Koubek’s debut on the bench.
“It’s not unusual when you have a new system and are learning new things. That can happen. At the start of the game we said such passages of play could arise – but what couldn’t happen was that we wouldn’t show fighting spirit and resilience in every situation. We demonstrated that until the last moment, and we were rewarded.”
Nerves around the Fortuna Arena were frayed as Ireland took and converted the first penalty, immediately putting pressure on the Czechs. But they held their nerve, with goalkeeper Matěj Kovář making two saves to put them in the driver’s seat.
And then substitute Kliment earned hero status by cooling putting his side’s final spot kick to the right, beyond the reach of Ireland’s Kelleher.
“I took a deep breath. I knew where I wanted to place the ball. I was kind of prepared for their goalkeeper. I knew I had to shoot as hard as I could, and it worked out.”
Thursday’s victory followed a bitter end to Czechia’s World Cup group stage, when players refused to thanks fans after a qualifying game and Tomáš Souček was stripped of the captaincy.
Coach Koubek told reporters a corner had now been turned.
“I think we’ve managed to reconnect with the spectators. After the unfortunate events of the last game, they were able to help us. And we wanted to repay them.”
Czech fans will have another chance to roar on the team on Tuesday, when they face Denmark at Letná Stadium in a game to decide which country goes to the 2026 World Cup in North America in June.
