Flop who cost Benfica €14m called up for the World Cup | OneFootball

The Czech Republic’s extended squad for the 2026 World Cup brought several surprises and opened the door to unexpected scenarios, with particular focus on names linked to Portuguese football, several absolute first call-ups to the national team, and a former Benfica player who failed to establish himself at the Luz.

David Jurásek, the former Eagles full-back, is back involved with the Czech national team after returning to Slavia Prague, strengthening the link to players with experience in top-level European football.

Another name in the spotlight is Braga goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek, who is still chasing his first cap for the senior national team. The young shot-stopper appears as one of the most intriguing new faces in this stage of preparations.

The squad also includes three absolute debutants: midfielders Hugo Sochurek (Sparta Prague) and Alexandr Sojka (Viktoria Plzen), as well as forward Christophe Kabongo, in a clear move to refresh the group for the tournament. In addition, there are also players still waiting for their first cap, such as Pavel Bucha and Denis Visinsky, who had already been called up in earlier stages of qualifying but have yet to make their official debuts.

, who had not worn the Czech Republic shirt since June last year. The final squad, which will be reduced to 26 players, will be announced on 31 May, before preparations for the World Cup begin in Prague.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.