Czechia

🌍 World Cup Story

Czechoslovakia were twice World Cup runners-up (1934, 1962) and produced one of the greatest individual goals in tournament history — Panenka's chipped penalty in the 1976 European Championship final, a technique now named after him. After the Velvet Divorce split the country in 1993, the Czech Republic (now Czechia) emerged as the stronger footballing nation — reaching the Euro 1996 final (losing to Germany's golden goal) and the Euro 2004 semifinals. At World Cup level they appeared in 2006, exiting in the group stage. This is their return to the big stage after a long absence, and a physical, set-piece-dangerous side could cause upsets.