The Czech Republic has established itself as a solid soccer nation in Europe and will compete in the 2026 World Cup with an experienced squad drawn from European professional leagues. Coach Miroslav Koubek took over the team in December 2025 and led it to the tournament during the qualifying phase. Group A, which includes host Mexico, is a challenge—the Czech Republic will give it their all to reach the knockout stage.

Coach Miroslav Koubek has named three goalkeepers to the Czech squad: Matěj Kovář, Jindřich Staněk, and Lukáš Horníček. The Czech Republic is returning to the World Cup stage after a 20-year absence—the country last competed in 2006. In Group A, they will face South Korea, South Africa, and co-host Mexico. The trio of goalkeepers includes a Manchester United product, a Slavia veteran, and a 23-year-old talent from Portugal—and exemplifies the growing international reach of Czech soccer.

Kovář, at 25, is the youngest of the three goalkeepers and also Koubek’s clear first choice. His journey began with a transfer from the 1. FC Slovácko academy to Manchester United in 2018—he stayed there for five years, mainly with the reserves, interrupted by loan spells at Swindon Town and Burton Albion. The decisive breakthrough came during a loan to Sparta Prague in the 2022–23 season: 28 league games, a league title, and the award for Goalkeeper of the Season. In the summer of 2023, he moved to Bayer Leverkusen for €5 million, where he saw little playing time behind Lukáš Hrádecký. In July 2025, he went on loan to PSV Eindhoven, which was converted into a permanent transfer in January 2026, running through 2030. He has made 27 appearances in the Eredivisie this season.

With 19 international caps, he is the most experienced goalkeeper in the Czech Republic’s squad—and at 6’5”, with a modern build-up game and the composure of a Champions League veteran, he is exactly the type of player Koubek’s system needs in a tournament against Mexico and South Korea.

Staněk, 29 years old and born in Strakonice, is the goalkeeper with the longest tenure at his club among the trio. He has been with SK Slavia Praha since January 2024, having previously spent two years at Viktoria Plzeň and several years in the Czech second division—he has built his career entirely within the domestic football system. This season, he has appeared in 18 first-division matches, keeping six clean sheets, and has guided Slavia through the Champions League group stage. His contract runs through 2029. At the international level, he brings solid experience from competitive matches and is Koubek’s reliable second option—the goalkeeper who knows the Czech Republic like no other.

Horníček is 23 years old and stands 198 cm tall—and is the most unusual goalkeeper of the trio: This is his first time ever on the senior squad, and he has yet to play a single international match for the national team. The fact that he was nominated anyway is due to a convincing season with SC Braga in the Primeira Liga: 26 appearances, nine clean sheets, a FotMob rating of 7.26—strong enough to push his Transfermarkt value up to 15 million euros. Since his move from FK Pardubice to Portugal in 2019—at the time the biggest sale in Pardubice’s club history—he has earned his place as the starting goalkeeper for a European first-division club. The World Cup is his first major tournament at any level.