Ladislav Krejci is excited to have the opportunity to lead his country out at the World Cup as he prepares for his first taste of the biggest tournament in international football.
The Czech Republic captain played a vital role in securing his nation’s place at this summer’s tournament, scoring in both the play-off semi-final against the Republic of Ireland and versus Denmark in the final.
With Czechia reaching the World Cup for the first time in 20 years, Krejci will look to get out of a group also consisting of Wolves teammate and close friend Hee Chan Hwang who is at the tournament with South Korea, as well as new Old Gold arrival, legendary Mexico striker Raul Jimenez.
Czech Republic’s World Cup 2026 fixtures:
- South Korea vs Czech Republic | 12th June 2026 | Guadalajara
- Czech Republic vs South Africa | 18th June 2026 | Atlanta
- Czech Republic vs Mexico | 25th June 2026 | Mexico City
But Krejci played down his country’s chances at the World Cup, but believes the Czech Republic squad showed in their qualification play-offs how they have the heart, passion and mentality to cause an upset.
On heading to his first World Cup
“I’m looking forward to the World Cup a lot because it’s the biggest tournament in football that you can play for your nation.
“My expectations are very high and I’m interested in how the whole thing will look in general, but I think it will not be easy. Also for the head, because we’ve started to discuss the travelling between the training sessions and between the games, with the infrastructure, so I will also be interested to see how it works.
“But on the pitch, you know you have to perform and of course I will open my eyes and I want to see everything, but my concentration in the end will be only for the the football and hopefully we can show our best and go as far as possible.”
On his World Cup memories
“I was seven the last time we were in a World Cup [in 2006] and I only have one memory in my head from that, and it was when the Czech national team played against Ghana.
“I was in the pub inside our football ground where I grew up in Rosice, a small town in my country, and I have this small memory where I’m standing next to the table in a full pub watching the game.
“Unluckily, we didn’t win, but I have just a flash of a memory that I can remember from this moment.”
On starring in the qualification play-offs
“We came into the game [against Republic of Ireland] with a new coach, with a new strategy and within 25 minutes, you are two down at home, and you feel in a bad way, but we started to immediately get together and speak about motivating each other and telling them that we’re still fighting for something.
“It wasn’t just a friendly, or something like this, and it can change in one moment. The belief if the one thing that got us through these qualifying games and I think our strongest thing is this mentality.
“We are not the most technical or tactical team, but as a country, we have something inside us that I believe goes back through many years, and many decades, that in big moments we can pull each other through and fight till the end.
“We don’t have a lot of moments in the last years, but when we could feel that this is the game that could bring us to the World Cup, and you have only one chance, maybe for some of us it’s the last chance, but for all of us it is the biggest dreams, and you react differently.”
On securing Czechia’s place at the World Cup
“After the Denmark game, I felt amazing. There were also things inside the team when everybody has their stories, and when we scored the last penalty, the emotion was amazing because we went through.
“But you’re also thinking about what it means to your teammates, like our goalkeeper Kovar, Soucek, Schick, a lot of things go through your head, because these guys have done so much in the past, and you think about the things that were hard.
“So, you are happy for yourself, but also happy for them that they have achieved something that they have been working for so many years and it’s all paid off.
On being prepared for the group stages
“What is very exciting for me that is our group is made up of teams from four different continents, from Africa, Europe, Asia, and also America, so it will be very interesting to play against each other.
“Because if I speak about our team, we only really play a lot of European teams, so these games will be really interesting to compare the style of the cultures, so for me it will be very exciting.
“I’m also looking forward to seeing what the atmosphere is like over there and the organisation and these things.”
Class of '26 🇨🇿
— Česká fotbalová reprezentace (@ceskarepre_cz) June 5, 2026
Hrdí lvi odlétají po 20 letech na mistrovství světa! 🦁🏆🌎 #ProTenhleMoment #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/kPdRh3rS33
On facing Hwang and South Korea
“I’ve spoken to him about it a lot. Before the Ireland game I also spoke a lot with Doc [Matt Doherty] as well, and I was happy that we knocked them out. Now I said to Hee Chan that now it’s your turn, so he should explain the same!
“But I like him a lot, we get along well, he’s an amazing guy, and we’ve spoken a lot in the last days, so I’m looking forward to seeing him.”
On aims for the tournament
“After our two games in the play-offs, we showed what we are about – the heart, the passion, the mentality, and this is the bottom line for us.
“We understand what our style is and what our level is, so as a national team, we like to think about the future. We want to be more competitive and more stable and show our face in the game, but now we are in this moment, we need to work with what we have, and what we can do.”
