The 74-year-old Koubek has been with the team since December, this will be his first international match. And also, as he himself mentioned, the peak of his coaching career. For the playoffs, he already persuaded thirty-five-year-old Vladimír Darida to return to the national team. The central midfielder of Hradec Králové is in excellent form this season, he should add experience to the team and Koubek will logically not be missing in the selection.
The biggest question mark hangs over the participation or non-participation of Pavel Šulec. The 25-year-old offensive midfielder played in excellent form in Lyon, France, he is among the most productive players in the top league there with a record of 10+3. He missed the last five games due to a hamstring injury, but he has been training with the ball since the beginning of the week. There was also uncertainty around the gunner Patrik Schick, but he has already treated his minor health problem and at the weekend participated in Leverkusen’s draw with Bayern (1:1) with an assist.
The representatives will enter the playoffs on March 26, when they host Ireland in Eden. If they win, they will compete against the winner of the Denmark-North Macedonia duel on March 31 at Letná for direct promotion to the World Cup, which is hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico in the summer. In the event of a loss to Ireland, the game will be played at the Sparta Stadium on the same date, but it will be a friendly match with the loser of the same pair.
Coach Koubek has signed a contract with the national team until the summer of 2028, his first (and most important) task is to get the national team to the world championship, where it last qualified twenty years ago. But after a win over the USA and losses to Ghana and the later winner from Italy, they were eliminated in the basic group.
