PRAGUE (AP) — Sparta Prague midfielder Hugo Sochůrek was included in the Czech Republic squad for the World Cup after he became the youngest player for the national team in a warmup game against Kosovo on Sunday.
The Czechs won 2-1 and 17-year-old Sochůrek came on as a substitute. Immediately after the game, coach Miroslav Koubek cut his initial selection of 29 to the final 26.
FC Cincinnati midfielder Pavel Bucha, Mladá Boleslav forward Christophe Kabongo and Viktoria Plzeň midfielder Tomáš Ladra didn't make the final cut.
“Probably the worst moment of my coaching career,” said Koubek, the 74-year-old veteran.
In good news for the Czechs, attacking midfielder Adam Hložek of Hoffenheim, who has recently recovered from long-term calf and foot injuries, returned to the squad to play his first game for the national team since June and scored a goal.
The 23-year-old has played 42 international games, scoring five times.
The team was scheduled to leave for the United States later Sunday to play one more warmup against Guatemala in New Jersey on June 4.
The team mainstays included Lyon midfielder Pavel Šulc, Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick and West Ham midfield Tomáš Souček.
Koubek also included two Slavia Prague players — forward Tomáš Chorý and defender David Douděra — who were suspended for disciplinary reasons by the club for the rest of the season and transfer-listed.
During the World Cup, the Czechs will be based in Mansfield, Texas.
They will open the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada against South Korea on June 11 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Their other Group A opponents are South Africa (Atlanta, June 18) and Mexico (Mexico City, June 25).
The Czechs qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 2006.
Czech Republic:
Goalkeepers: Lukáš Horníček (Braga), Matěj Kovář (PSV Eindhoven), Jindřich Staněk (Slavia Prague).
Defenders: Vladimír Coufal (Hoffenheim), David Douděra (Slavia Prague), Tomáš Holeš (Slavia Prague), Robin Hranáč (Hoffenheim), Štěpán Chaloupek (Slavia Prague), David Jurásek (Slavia Prague), Ladislav Krejčí (Wolverhampton), Jaroslav Zelený (Sparta Prague), David Zima (Slavia Prague).
Midfielders: Lukáš Červ (Viktoria Plzeň), Vladimír Darida (Hradec Králové), Lukáš Provod (Slavia Prague), Michal Sadílek (Slavia Prague), Hugo Sochůrek (Sparta Prague), Alexandr Sojka (Viktoria Plzeň), Tomáš Souček (West Ham), Pavel Šulc (Lyon), Denis Višinský (Viktoria Plzeň).
Forwards: Tomáš Chorý (Slavia Prague), Adam Hložek (Hoffenheim), Mojmír Chytil (Slavia Prague), Jan Kuchta (Sparta Prague), Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen).
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Amy Sousa, a women's rights activist and psychologist, Keith Lierre, founder of Women's Libe… Read moreTalk at RWC Library - The transgender assault on Women and Girls
DavidKristofferson said:
CA Is Burning said:
Connie Weiss said:
LittleFoot said:
LittleFoot said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.