Czechia, world No. 43, defeated Denmark (No. 21) 3-1 on penalties after a 2-2 draw through extra time to secure the final spot in Group A alongside South Korea (No. 22), Mexico, and South Africa at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The victory marks Czechia's first appearance since 2006, earned in a European playoff at Stadion Letná in Prague on March 31.
Czechia overcame Denmark in a thrilling UEFA European playoff final at Stadion Letná (EPET Arena) in Prague on Tuesday, March 31. Pavel Šulc opened the scoring for the hosts in the 3rd minute with a powerful shot. Denmark equalized in the 72nd minute through Joachim Andersen's header. Ladislav Krejčí put Czechia ahead in the 100th minute, but Kasper Høgh leveled it at 2-2 in the 111th.
In the shootout, Denmark's Rasmus Højlund hit the post first, followed by conversions from Tomáš Chory and Tomáš Souček for Czechia. Anders Dreyer and Ladislav Krejčí missed for Czechia, but Denmark's Mathias Jensen blazed over, allowing Michal Sadílek to seal a 3-1 win.
Both teams advanced through Path D semifinals: Czechia edged Ireland 4-3 on penalties, while Denmark thrashed North Macedonia 4-0.
Czechia now joins Group A: June 11 features Mexico vs. South Africa at 15:00 in Estadio Ciudad de México and South Korea vs. Czechia at 22:00 in Estadio Guadalajara; June 18 has Czechia vs. South Africa at 12:00 in Atlanta Stadium and Mexico vs. South Korea at 21:00 in Guadalajara; June 24 closes with Czechia vs. Mexico at 21:00 in Estadio Ciudad de México and South Africa vs. South Korea at 21:00 in Estadio Monterrey.
South Korea and Czechia have met five times (one win, two draws, two losses for South Korea), most recently a 2-1 South Korean victory in June 2016.
The top two teams from each of the 12 groups, plus the eight best third-place teams, advance to the knockout rounds.
