Ireland face their biggest game in years as they take on Czechia in the first round of play-off ties for the 2026 World Cup.
The home side finished second in Group L, a group containing Croatia, Faroe Islands, Montenegro and Gibraltar. The Czechs will be pleased they were awarded home advantage in this tie as their home form is very good, with the side unbeaten in nine on home soil, winning seven of those.
Czechia are a reliable force going forward, scoring an average of two goals per game across their last ten games, failing to score in only one of those matches. The team's primary goalscoring threat is Patrik Schick up top, who has an excellent scoring record with 24 goals in 50 caps for the national team.
Ireland, meanwhile, will be desperately hoping to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 24 years. Their qualifying hopes looked lost following a defeat away at Armenia, but three successive wins at the end of the campaign saw them sneak a play-off spot.
They are, though, up against it without home advantage, as they're much stronger in Dublin than they are on the road. They've won only three of their last ten games away from home and have lost four of their last seven, so an away trip to Prague looks very tough on paper.
Like the Czechs, they're good going forward, with 14 goals from their last ten games and only two blanks drawn in that period. Troy Parrott will fancy his chances of getting on the scoresheet given he has five goals in his last two games for the Boys in Green.
Ultimately, this might be a step too far for a resurgent Irish side, so we're backing the home side to get the job done.
Czechia 2-1 Republic of Ireland
