Tomáš Souček’s hopes of leading Czechia to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals were hit by a 5-1 defeat in Croatia on Monday evening.
The West Ham United captain scored an equaliser 13 minutes into the second half, but Croatia scored four goals in the space of 14 minutes to run away with the Group L qualifying tie played in Osijek.
Earning his 81st cap, Souček had spoken of his determination to captain his country to their first World Cup in 20 years, and Czechia had won their first three qualifiers, including a 2-0 home win over Montenegro last Friday evening. However, they proved no match for Croatia on this occasion.
Manchester City’s Joško Gvardiol had a goal disallowed for a foul following a VAR review before Hoffenheim forward Andrej Kramarić headed the hosts in front from Gvardiol’s assist on 42 minutes.
Souček levelled for Czechia with a towering header at the far post, but that was as good as it got as Luka Modrić calmly converted a penalty on 62 to put the home side back in front.
PSV Eindhoven’s Ivan Perišić made it 3-1 with a low drive, before Osasuna striker Ante Budimir converted a second penalty and finally Kramarić found the net to complete a convincing victory for Croatia.
Souček’s West Ham teammate Vladimír Coufal also started the game, winning his 55th cap and 47th and last as a Hammer.
Czechia remain top of Group L with nine points from four qualifiers, with Croatia second on six from two. Montenegro have six points from three games, the Faroe Islands three from three after defeating Gibraltar 2-1 on Monday, and Gibraltar remain without a point from four matches.
And the 30-year-old skipper is not giving up on his World Cup hopes, saying: “It's a dream for sure, there are many possibilities, but I still believe in the chances. Even from that first place there is a possibility, even though it is in our own hands. When we play, we will want to win every match and we have to believe that maybe even the Croats will lose to someone else, but we have to focus mainly on ourselves, on the next matches and then we will see how it goes, but the goal is clear to us.”
The Czechs return to action in September, when they travel to Montenegro.
