They beat Denmark on penalties after a 2-2 draw
\n PRAGUE
\nMichal Sadilek\u2019s penalty sent the Czech Republic to the World Cup as they beat Denmark in a shootout in Prague on Tuesday following a 2-2 draw after extra time.
\nThe Czechs will play their first World Cup since 2006, facing Mexico, South Africa and South Korea in Group A of the tournament hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico in June and July.
\nTomas Chory and Tomas Soucek also scored for the Czechs in their second shootout in six days, while skipper Ladislav Krejci was denied by Danish goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.
\nFor the visitors, Christian Eriksen was the only shootout scorer while Rasmus Hojlund hit the crossbar, Anders Dreyer failed to beat goalkeeper Matej Kovar and Mathias Jensen fired over the crossbar.
\n\u201cI\u2019m speechless. Hats off to everyone, I\u2019m incredibly happy,\u201d Krejci told Czech state television.
\n\u201cLet\u2019s be honest, we were not the better team but we showed more heart and we fought harder,\u201d added the Wolverhampton defender.
\n\u201cI had teary eyes, just a bit. I\u2019m terribly happy and I want to thank the players,\u201d Czech coach Miroslav Koubek told reporters.
\n\u201cWe suffered today. We played the best we could,\u201d added the 74-year-old former goalkeeper.
\nOn the chilly night in Prague, Pavel Sulc opened the score for the Czechs with a fine volley into the top corner three minutes into the game after the Danish defence had cleared a corner in his direction.
\nDenmark levelled in the 72nd minute when Mikkel Damsgaard\u2019s free kick found Joachim Andersen in the box ready with a glancing header.
\nKrejci put the hosts ahead again in the 100th minute as he picked up a ball knocked down by Soucek in a goalmouth scramble following Vladimir Coufal\u2019s cross.
\nHis shot was deflected into the net by Danish defender Alexander Bah.
\nBut Denmark levelled again in the 111th minute when substitute Kasper Hogh headed home Eriksen\u2019s corner six minutes after coming onto the pitch.
\n\u2018Outstanding success\u2019
\nIn the play-off semi-finals on March 26, the Czechs beat Ireland on penalties while Denmark breezed past North Macedonia 4-0.
\nBut they had a hard time beating the Czech defence as the hosts parked the bus after the quick opening goal, defending with 10 men.
\nRasmus Hojlund had his low shot cleared by Kovar who also forced Gustav Isaksen\u2019s curling free kick over the crossbar.
\nThe hosts were a threat on the break but Lukas Provod tipped the ball past Hermansen and his right post.
\nDenmark kept pushing and missing or finding Kovar\u2019s arms throughout the game, while the hosts often resorted to blindly clearing the ball.
\nDenmark will sit out their first World Cup since 2014, while the Czech Republic will record only the second appearance since it split with Slovakia to emerge as an independent country in 1993.
\nAt the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the Czech Republic relied on the likes of Petr Cech, Pavel Nedved, Tomas Rosicky, Karel Poborsky and Jan Koller and bowed out after the group stage.
\nThe 2026 World Cup berth is a rather unexpected triumph for the Czechs who struggled through the qualification, swapping coaches just before the play-offs amid mounting criticism from fans and pundits.
\nLong-time skipper Soucek lost the captain\u2019s armband before the play-offs after a fumbled attempt to console fans particularly upset by a 2-1 qualifying defeat on the Faroe Islands last October.
\n\u201cThe faith that we can do it kept growing every day, every hour,\u201d the veteran coach Koubek said.
\n\u201cThis is teamwork and an outstanding success and I\u2019m really sincerely happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
They beat Denmark on penalties after a 2-2 draw PRAGUE Michal Sadilek\u2019s penalty sent the Czech Republic to the World Cup as they beat Denmark in a shootout in Prague on Tuesday following a 2-2 draw after extra time. The Czechs will play their first World Cup since 2006, facing Mexico, South Africa and South […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539592,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-539574","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n