Kosovo are likely to be without their star players here, while the Czech Republic are looking for another morale-boosting victory ahead of the World Cup 2026. I will back the hosts to win in Prague.
Key Stats
- Czech Republic have won 7 of their last 11 home matches.
- Czech Republic beat Kosovo 2-1 in their last h2h.
Two Previous Meetings
These two sides battled in the EURO 2020 qualifiers.
Czechs Warming up for the WC
A 6-0 victory against Gibraltar was enough for the Czech Republic to secure second place in the World Cup 2026 Qualifiers Group L and seek their qualification through playoffs.
In the semifinals, they recovered from a two-goal deficit against Republic of Ireland and won on penalties (2-2 in regular time). Ladislav Krejci was the hero here with his late equalizer.
Another dramatic clash was seen in the finals against Denmark, regular time ending 1-1, extra-time in a 2-2 draw, then ultimately won on penalties.
Kosovo Might Miss Some Veteran Players
Kosovo had the same path as their upcoming opponents, finishing the WC 2026 Qualifiers in 2nd place in Group B behind Switzerland with three wins, two draws and one loss to secure place in the playoffs.
They caused massive upset in the semifinals by defeating favored Slovakia 4-3 in Bratislava, striking mostly through counter-attacks here, ending the match with 1.11-1.75 xG and 9-21 shots.
Kosovo had no strength to pull another surprise win in the finals, losing to Turkey 1-0 in front of the home crowd. Vedad Muriqi missed a big opportunity to score a late equalizer and force extra-time.
Team News & Predicted Lineups
Czech Republic (5-4-1) Matej Kovar; Vladimir Coufal, Stepan Chaloupek, Robin Hranac, Ladislav Krejci, Jaroslav Zeleny; Vladimir Darida, Tomas Soucek, Pavel Sulc, Lukas Provod; Patrik Schick
Vaclav Cerny was out of contention here due to a ligament injury. Patrick Schick is expected to lead the charge here. He is currently at 25 goals for the national team.
Kosovo (4-4-2) Arijanet Muric; Mergim Vojvoda, Lumbardh Dellova, Kreshnik Hajrizi, Albian Hajdari, Dion Gallapeni; Elvis Rexhbecaj, Veldin Hodza, Florent Muslija, Fisnik Asllani; Albion Rrahmanni
Kosovo's best player Vedat Muriqi was not called up for this match after he had an exhausting season with Mallorca. Also, Milot Rashica is injured.