On 19/11, the FACR announced it had stripped West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek of the captain's armband and cut all match bonuses for the national team players. This action followed the players' decision to ignore home fans in Olomouc. The forfeited funds will be redirected to support charitable organizations, instead of being distributed to the players as customary.

Krystof Danek (left) shakes hands with Dan Bent after the Czech Republic's 6-0 victory over Gibraltar in their final World Cup 2026 European qualifier at Andruv Stadion, Olomouc, Czech Republic on 17/11/2025. Photo: *Reuters*

After the home match, Czech Republic players immediately left the field without approaching the stands to thank their loyal fans. These supporters had chanted "Fight for Czechia" throughout the 90 minutes, expressing disappointment with the team's unconvincing qualifying campaign. The FACR stated, "Fans have every right to express dissatisfaction with recent performances. The correct response from players should be to approach and thank them, not turn their backs." Despite a decisive win to conclude their qualifying campaign, the Czech Republic was deemed to have performed below expectations. They previously lost 1-2 to the Faroe Islands, ranked 127th by FIFA, which led to coach Ivan Hasek's dismissal. Assistant Jaroslav Kostl took over as interim coach, guiding the team to a 1-0 friendly victory over San Marino before their win against Gibraltar.

The Czech Republic had no hope of challenging Croatia for first place in Group L of the European World Cup 2026 qualifiers before their final match. Their 6-0 victory in Olomouc on 18/11 only secured them second place in the group and a spot in the play-offs.

Tomas Soucek, a midfielder playing in the Premier League, was stripped of the Czech Republic national team captaincy. Photo: *AP*

The European World Cup play-off round features 16 teams: 12 group runners-up from the qualifiers and four teams that qualified via the UEFA Nations League 2024-2025.

Teams already confirmed as group runners-up include: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, Ireland, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Wales.

The four teams advancing via the Nations League are: Romania, Sweden, Northern Ireland, and North Macedonia. These four spots are awarded to the highest-ranked teams in the overall Nations League standings, provided they have not already secured direct qualification or finished as group runners-up.

Before the draw on 20/11, the group runners-up, ranked according to FIFA Ranking, will be divided into four seeded pots, while the four Nations League teams will occupy the final pot. The draw will sequentially select teams from Pot 1 to Pot 4 to form four play-off paths. The play-off matches will follow a single-leg knockout format. Each path will consist of two semi-final pairings, with a seeded team facing an unseeded team. Seeded teams will play their semi-finals at home, while the venue for the final will be determined by a draw. The semi-finals are scheduled for 26/3, and the finals for 31/3/2026.

By Hong Duy (according to ESPN)