UEFA Playoff Final Path D – Czechia vs. Denmark | OneFootball

It all comes down to this in Path D. Just one more game to decide who goes to the World Cup, and who misses out in a heartbreaking fashion. It will all take place in Prague between the host Czechia and visiting side Denmark.

On one side, we have the Danes that enjoyed a great last few years in international soccer. They reached the Round of 16 in the 2018 World Cup (narrowly losing to Croatia in penalties), semifinals in Euro 2020, and the Round of 16 in Euro 2024.

Czechia, on the other hand, haven’t been to the World Cup since 2006. Although they reached quarterfinals of Euro 2020, they were grouped in Euro 2024. So qualifying to this World Cup would be a massive achievement for them.

Let’s examine how each side got here.

Czechia 2 – 2 Republic of Ireland

Czechia won 4-3 in penalties

Czechia hosted this game as well, but it was Ireland who got off to a great start.

Thanks to a penalty and an own goal, Ireland were already 2-0 up by the 23rd minute. It was looking like they’d be cruising to a victory, while the Czechs were going to squander a golden opportunity at home.

But the Czechs proved that you can never count them out. Patrik Schick scored Czechia’s first goal in the 27th minute via a penalty and the 6’3 center-back Ladislav Krejčí got a late equalizer in the 86th minute.

The game went to extra time and with no more goals, the penalty shootout decided the winner. It was again Ireland leading in the shootout as the first three of their players scored, while Czechia missed one.

However, Czechia’s 6’5 keeper Matěj Kovář came up big in the last two penalties, saving both from the Irish players. Meanwhile, Czechia scored both of their penalties and the comeback was complete at home.

With the spirits high right now, they need just one more win to get back to the promised land after 20 years. They will be itching for the game to start already with the whole nation behind them.

Denmark 4 – 0 North Macedonia

It wasn’t quite David vs Goliath, but Denmark were the clear favorites going into that game, especially at home. And they ended up getting a comfortable win.

Denmark were missing many key players though, so that gave North Macedonia some hope. The first half was a bit nervy and ended 0-0. Whatever Danish head coach Brian Riemer said at half-time ended up working, because Denmark scored three times in the first 15 minutes of the second half.

In the end, they won the match 4-0 and will be traveling to Prague for the ultimate playoff game. After a disappointing 2022 World Cup campaign, Denmark would love to go on a deep run in this upcoming World Cup, and they feel they have the quality to do so given their recent Euros performances.

Team News & Prediction

This is not Czechia from 20 years ago. There are no Petr Čech, Pavel Nedvěd, Tomáš Rosický, Milan Baroš, Vladimír Šmicer, and Jan Koller in their squad. However, it doesn’t mean they don’t have some quality in their team.

You might not associate Czechia with scoring tons of goals. But in their last three home games, they’ve scored nine. So they know how to find the back of the net in big moments, and they also have strong spirits that don’t give up easily. Just look at their comeback against Ireland.

On the other hand, this isn’t the full strength Denmark side. They are missing many key players such as Kasper Schmeichel, Jannik Vestergaard, Andreas Christensen, Rasmus Kristensen, Patrick Dorgu, Kasper Dolberg, Yussuf Poulsen, and Jonas Wind. That’s taken a lot of quality out of their side.

So normally, Denmark would be favorites against Czechia but given the missing players and the match being in Prague, it could swing either way. The Danes will be hoping Lazio’s Gustav Isaksen ends up having another great performance, like he did on Thursday.

Usually in crucial games, a deciding factor is the individual quality. So while the Czechs are at home with high spirits, it’s hard to see a team like Denmark missing out on the World Cup– given they still have a lot of quality left even with missing players. It will be a tough game, it will be a competitive game, and it will have a lot of people on the edge of their seats. But Denmark will narrowly squeeze out a win in Prague.

Prediction: Czechia 1-2 Denmark