How Troy Parrott factor will influence Ireland v Czech RepublicWhat’s happening?
The Republic of Ireland are playing the Czech Republic in a playoff semi-final in the hope of qualifying for this summer’s World Cup co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.
When and where?
The game will be played on Thursday evening, kick-off 7.45pm Irish time, at the Fortuna Arena in the Czech capital, Prague.
How can I watch the game?
The game will be shown live on RTÉ2 and will be available to stream on Amazon Prime.
We’ll also have live updates on irishtimes.com throughout the game, followed by a full report, player ratings, reaction and analysis from our team of writers.
What if Ireland win?
If Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side get a win in Prague, they’ll face the winner of the other Path D playoff semi-final – Denmark v North Macedonia – in a playoff final at the Aviva Stadium next Tuesday, the winner of which will qualify for the World Cup.
The Denmark v North Macedonia game will be played in Copenhagen at the same time as the Ireland game on Thursday evening, so we’ll also be keeping an eye on proceedings there.
What if Ireland lose?
If Ireland lose to the Czech Republic, their World Cup qualifying campaign is over. They’ll still play a game at the Aviva next Tuesday, but it will just be an international friendly against the loser of the Denmark v North Macedonia playoff.
Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson at a press conference in Prague on Wednesday. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/INPHO Have we team news?
Yes, Hallgrímsson and his Czech counterpart, Miroslav Koubek, named their squads for the playoffs last week.
Ireland are without the injured duo of Evan Ferguson and Josh Cullen, while Liam Scales has been included in the squad but will miss the game in Prague due to suspension.
The Czechs have included Lyon’s Pavel Sulc and Bayer Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick, both of whom had been injury concerns, as well as West Ham’s Tomas Soucek.
Here’s the two squads in full:
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Goalkeepers: Caoimhín Kelleher (Brentford), Mark Travers (Everton), Josh Keeley (Luton Town).
Defenders: Séamus Coleman (Everton), Jimmy Dunne (QPR), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Dara O’Shea (Ipswich Town), Jake O’Brien (Everton), John Egan (Hull City), James Abankwah (Watford), Liam Scales (Celtic), Robbie Brady (Preston North End), Ryan Manning (Southampton).
Robbie Brady, centre, before a session at the FAI National Training Centre, Dublin, on Monday. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
Midfielders: Jayson Molumby (West Brom), Bosun Lawal (Stoke City), Jack Taylor (Ipswich Town), Alan Browne (Middlesbrough), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Finn Azaz (Southampton), Harvey Vale (QPR).
Attackers: Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar), Adam Idah (Swansea City), Johnny Kenny (Bolton, on loan from Celtic), Chiedozie Ogbene (Sheffield United, on loan from Ipswich Town), Sammie Szmodics (Derby, on loan from Ipswich Town).
CZECH REPUBLIC
Goalkeepers: Lukas Hornícek (Braga), Martin Jedlicka (Baník), Matej Kovar (PSV).
Defenders: Vladimir Coufal (Hoffenheim), Tomas Holes (Slavia), Robin Hranac (Hoffenheim), Stepan Chaloupek (Slavia), David Jurasek (Slavia), Ladislav Krejci (Wolves), Martin Vitik (Bologna), Jaroslav Zeleny (Sparta).
Midfielders: Pavel Bucha (Cincinnati), Lukas Cerv (Plzen), Vladimir Darida (Hradec Králové), Adam Karabec (Lyon), Tomas Ladra (Plzen), Lukas Provod (Slavia), Michal Sadílek (Slavia), Tomas Soucek (West Ham), Pavel Sulc (Lyon), Denis Visinsky (Plzen).
Forwards: Tomas Chory (Slavia), Mojmír Chytil (Slavia), Jan Kliment (Olomouc), Patrik Schick (Leverkusen).
What’s our head-to-head like?
Ireland have played the Czech national team 20 times, their first meeting being in 1938.
The record favours Thursday night’s hosts, who have won 11 of the games so far to Ireland’s six, while three fixtures ended in draws.
John O’Shea in action against Jan Rezek during an international friendly between Ireland and the Czech Republic in 2012. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/INPHO
Most recently, Ireland played out a 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic when they came to Dublin for a friendly in September 2012. Before that, the sides met as part of the qualifying campaign for Euro 2008, the Czechs qualifying having secured a 1-0 home win in the second leg after a 1-1 draw in Dublin.
Ireland’s most recent win in the fixture came in a friendly at Lansdowne Road in March 2004, with Ian Harte and Robbie Keane the Irish goalscorers in the 2-1 finish.
How many spots are still up for grabs at the World Cup?
There are still six places at this summer’s tournament yet to be filled.
Four will go to the European nations that win the Uefa playoff finals next week, while the two remaining spots will be filled by a new six-team intercontinental tournament taking place in Mexico.
The latter route will see New Caledonia face Jamaica and Bolivia play Suriname in two semi-finals on Thursday, the winners of which will play Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq respectively in finals next Tuesday, the two winners qualifying for the World Cup.
Who else is in action in the Uefa playoffs?
Northern Ireland and Wales are also in the playoffs, both in Path A.
Northern Ireland will play Italy in Bergamo on Thursday (kick-off 7.45pm Irish time, live coverage on BBC One) while Wales host Bosnia & Herzegovina in Cardiff.
If Michael O’Neill’s side come through their semi-final, they’ll be away to the winners of Wales v Bosnia & Herzegovina in a playoff final next Tuesday for a shot at World Cup qualification.
What’s in store if Ireland get to the World Cup?
We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but if Ireland make it to the World Cup, they’ll slot in to Group A alongside Mexico, South Africa and South Korea.
But first, Prague.