Czechia will visit Denmark with a place at the FIFA World Cup on the line, while the Republic of Ireland’s hopes of qualification are over.
The Republic of Ireland saw their World Cup dreams ended in heartbreaking fashion as they lost 4-3 on penalties to Czechia, having squandered a 2-0 lead to draw their play-off semi-final 2-2.
Ireland raced into a 2-0 lead inside the first 23 minutes, with Troy Parrott continuing his international hot streak before Matej Kovar scored an unfortunate own goal. However, Patrik Schick‘s penalty got Czechia back within one, and Ladislav Krejci equalised late on.
That goal took the tie to extra time, and after 30 goalless minutes, Kovar got down to his right to keep out penalties from Finn Azaz and Alan Browne to seal victory for Czechia.
Ireland started brilliantly as Nathan Collins rattled the crossbar and sent a header wide, and when the Brentford defender was fouled by Vladimir Darida, Parrott slotted home from the penalty spot in the 19th minute.
Things got even better for Heimir Hallgrimsson’s team four minutes later, as Dara O’Shea‘s back-post header was hacked onto the bar by Vladimir Coufal, then bounced in off goalkeeper Kovar.
Czechia quickly halved the arrears through a penalty of their own, with Schick keeping his composure after Ryan Manning inexplicably pulled Krejci’s shirt.
Jayson Molumby struck the post and Parrott drew a glorious save from Kovar as Ireland pushed for a third goal, but they were stunned by a towering header from Wolves defender Krejci with four minutes of the 90 remaining.
Neither team managed to create a clear-cut chance in extra time, and when Caoimhín Kelleher denied Mojmir Chytil six kicks into the shoot-out, Ireland had the upper hand.
However, both Azaz and Browne saw weak efforts parried by Kovar, teeing up a winner-take-all meeting between Denmark and Czechia on Tuesday.
Republic of Ireland’s Drought Goes On After Heart-Wrenching Defeat
The Republic of Ireland will now miss a sixth successive edition of the men’s FIFA World Cup, having not appeared at FIFA’s flagship tournament since 2002, when they reached the last 16 and lost to Spain in the aftermath of an infamous row between Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane.
Thursday’s game was a close-run affair, but Czechia are now one game away from reaching their first World Cup since 2006, having only made the tournament once since their final appearance as Czechoslovakia in 1990.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Czechia vs Republic of Ireland stats from their UEFA World Cup 2026 play-off semi-final at the Fortuna Arena, Prague on 26 March 2026.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Czechia 2-2 Republic of Ireland Post-Match Facts
Republic of Ireland have lost their last three competitive penalty shootouts (vs Czechia tonight, Slovakia in 2020 and Spain in 2002). The Boys in Green have failed to qualify for the last six FIFA World Cup tournaments. Czechia – aiming to reach the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 2006 – are unbeaten in their last 17 home games in all competitions (W13 D4). At 24 years and 50 days, Troy Parrott became the youngest player to score in three consecutive appearances for Republic of Ireland since 20-year-old Stephen Ireland in 2006-2007. Troy Parrott has scored six goals in his last three games for Republic of Ireland, one more than he did in his first 31 appearances for his country. Excluding penalties, Czechia have scored more goals from set pieces than any other European nation in World Cup 2026 qualifying (eight). Patrik Schick has scored seven goals in his last 11 starts for Czechia in all competitions, with his goal today his 25th overall for the national team.Enjoy this? Add Opta Analyst as a preferred source by clicking here.
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Czechia 2-2 Republic of Ireland Stats (AET, 4-3 pens): Kovar Shootout Heroics Decide World Cup Play-Off Tie Opta Analyst.
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