Czech Republic
CroatiaGroup A3
Pašalić Marco 77'
Czech Republic: 16. Hornicek - 4. Hranáč, 5. Coufal, 6. Chaloupek, 20. Slama (Zmrzly, 83) - 8. Sadilek M., 12. Červ L. (Král, 67), 15. Šulc P. (Sejk, 83) - 9. Karabec (Šubert, 74), 13. Ambros (Radosta, 67) - 10. Hložek
Substitution: Radosta (from 67); Král (from 67); Šubert (from 74); Zmrzly (from 83); Sejk (from 83)
Bench: 1. Kovar M., 23. Kinský - 2. Kričfaluši, 14. Vitík - 22. Sáček - 17. Bucha P., 19. Macek
Yellow Cards: Červ L. 36; Král 90
Croatia: 1. Livaković - 2. Stanisic, 4. Gvardiol, 5. Vuskovic L. - 17. Sucic P. (Vlašić, 88) - 8. Kovacic M., 10. Modric (Mišić J., 76), 14. Perišić I., 21. Sucic L. (Pasalic Mario, 63) - 16. Ivanović Fr. (Pašalić Marco, 63), 20. Matanovic (Budimir, 63)
Substitution: Pasalic Mario (from 63); Pašalić Marco (from 63); Budimir (from 63); Mišić J. (from 76); Vlašić (from 88)
Bench: 12. Pandur, 23. Kotarski - 3. Smolcic I., 6. Sutalo J. - 7. Majer L. - 9. Kramaric, 18. Beljo
Yellow Cards: Vuskovic L. 66
The Croatia captain is not ready to bring his international career to an end
Portugal secured a dramatic 2-1 victory
Goals from Nikola Vlasic and Luka Sucic proved decisive
The Czechs failed to record a single victory and exit the World Cup with a goal difference of 2-6
The final whistle confirmed a narrow but hugely significant 1-0 victory for Croatia
The result means qualification will now be decided in the final round of group-stage fixtures
The opening Group Stage fixture of World Cup 2026 between England and Croatia more than lived up to its billing as the marquee match of the round
Despite writing his name into the headlines by scoring Czechia's first goal of the 2026 World Cup, captain Ladislav Krejčí cut a deeply frustrated figure following his side's 2-1 defeat to South Korea.
South Korea and Czechia played out a gripping encounter in the second fixture of Group A at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Czech Republic are heading back to the FIFA World Cup
Czech Republic showcased remarkable character and composure to overturn a two-goal deficit
The decision reflects a desire for stability and experience at a critical moment for Czech football
As of now, 34 of the 48 participating nations have confirmed their qualification
Six fixtures across three European groups headline today’s World Cup 2026 qualifying schedule
Ivan Hašek has been dismissed as head coach of the Czech Republic national team following the team’s humiliating 2-1 loss to the Faroe Islands in World Cup qualifying