Coach Miroslav Koubek’s squad includes the seventeen-year-old Hugo Sochurek, Christophe Kabongo, Alexandr Sojka, as well as the often-mentioned Slavia players Tomas Chory and David Doudera. The final squad of 26 players will be announced after the mentioned match. The team will then depart for the tournament, which will be hosted by the USA, Mexico, and Canada.
The national team will play their final warm-up on June 4th in New Jersey, and Guatemala is expected to be the opponent. The Czech team will kick off their World Cup campaign on June 11th with a match against South Korea in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Among the 30 names are also Slavia players David Doudera and Tomas Chory, who both received red cards in the recent abandoned Prague derby. Due to previous incidents, Slavia’s management has removed them from the first team, and both have been given permission to transfer in the summer. The disciplinary committee later handed Chorý a six-match ban and Douděra a three-match suspension. Both are currently lacking match practice.
While Plzeň’s Sojka and Kabongo, who is on loan from Viktoria to Mladá Boleslav, have already played for the U21 national team, Sochurek has so far only represented the national U19 side. “Their call-up has a common denominator, and that is their current form,” said Koubek.
Flashscore expert and former Bundesliga midfielder Jan Moravek would also include the talented Sparta player in his final tournament squad, explaining: “My view on Sochurek is probably similar to that of the coaches who put him on the preliminary list. I stand by the idea that when a promising young player with undeniable talent emerges, we need to nurture and develop him.”
Czech squad for the pre-World Cup camp
Goalkeepers: Lukáš Horníček (Braga), Matěj Kovář (PSV), Jindřich Staněk (Slavia Praha).
Defenders: Vladimír Coufal (Hoffenheim), David Douděra (Slavia Praha), Tomáš Holeš (Slavia Praha), Robin Hranáč (Hoffenheim), Štěpán Chaloupek (Slavia Praha), David Jurásek (Slavia Praha), Ladislav Krejčí (Wolves), Jaroslav Zelený (Sparta Praha), David Zima (Slavia Praha).
Midfielders: Pavel Bucha (Cincinnati FC), Lukáš Červ (Viktoria Plzeň), Vladimír Darida (Hradec Králové), Tomáš Ladra (Viktoria Plzeň), Lukáš Provod (Slavia Praha), Michal Sadílek (Slavia Praha), Hugo Sochůrek (Sparta Praha), Alexandr Sojka (Viktoria Plzeň), Tomáš Souček (West Ham), Pavel Šulc (Lyon), Denis Višinský (Viktoria Plzeň).
Forwards: Adam Hložek (Hoffenheim), Tomáš Chorý (Slavia Praha), Mojmír Chytil (Slavia Praha), Christophe Kabongo (Mladá Boleslav), Jan Kuchta (Sparta Praha), Patrik Schick (Leverkusen).