Czech Republic coach Koubek quits after World Cup flop

The Czech Football Association (FACR) said Monday it had parted ways with national team coach Miroslav Koubek following their first-round World Cup exit.

The 74-year-old led the Czechs to their first World Cup spot in 20 years with shootout wins over Ireland and Denmark in the March play-offs.

But the Czechs failed to shine at the tournament co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, earning a single point for a 1-1 draw with South Africa and losing to South Korea and Mexico in Group A.

“We have agreed with coach Miroslav Koubek on terminating our cooperation,” FACR head David Trunda said in a statement.

“At a meeting today, the coach offered his resignation and I decided to accept the offer after an open and correct debate,” he added.

Koubek signed a two-year deal with the FACR when he took the team over before the play-offs, but he came under heavy fire after the World Cup flop.

“My decision is also due to a media campaign based on a number of half-truths concerning me,” Koubek said in a statement.

“In this atmosphere my work for the Czech national team would not make sense any more.”

The Czechs also lost their top striker Patrik Schick after the World Cup exit.

The 30-year-old Leverkusen forward announced his international career was over after 56 games in which he had scored 26 goals.

Schick criticised the Czechs’ performance in a statement last Thursday, saying that “we need to face the truth and change a number of things that don’t work”.

The Czechs are due to play the top level of the 2026-2027 League of Nations, facing Croatia, England and Spain in Group A3.

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