The Czech Republic has qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Denmark in their European playoff final. The match, played at the Fortuna Arena in Prague on Tuesday, ended 1-1 after extra time, with the Czechs winning 3-2 on penalties.
Patrik Schick opened the scoring for the hosts in the 76th minute, but Denmark's Joachim Andersen equalized in the 90th minute to force extra time. With no further goals, the match went to a shootout where Czech goalkeeper Jindřich Staněk saved two Danish penalties.
Michal Sadílek scored the decisive penalty to send the Czech Republic to the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Denmark, the 1992 European champions, will miss the tournament for the first time since 2010.
In other European playoff finals, Sweden defeated Poland 3-2 and Turkey secured a 1-0 victory over Kosovo to also claim their spots in the expanded 48-team World Cup finals.
