Preview:Czech Republic vs San Marino - prediction, team news, lineups

Ahead of their final World Cup qualifying game, Czech Republic will welcome San Marino to Mestsky Stadion on Thursday for an international friendly.

With automatic qualification to World Cup 2026 still a possibility, the hosts are sure to use their clash against the minnows as a testing bed for their match against Gibraltar next Monday.

Match preview

Czech Republic can be forgiven for thinking beyond Thursday's game given they are second in their World Cup qualifying group with 13 points, and while they occupy the playoff spot they are only three points from first-placed Croatia, who admittedly still have two qualifiers to fulfil.

Interim boss Jaroslav Kostl may be looking over his shoulder considering Faroe Islands are only one point behind in third place after seven games, so their clash against San Marino must be used to iron out any creases in his team's setup before Monday.

Narodak have struggled for goals of late having scored just twice in their last three outings, whereas they had netted at least twice in five of their prior six.

Czech Republic's form has also dipped in recent matches, with the nation drawing two and losing one of their past three, a poor run of results given they had won five of their previous six.

Kostl's team are unbeaten in 15 at home, emerging as victors on 12 occasions, with their most recent defeat at Mestsky Stadion a 4-0 loss against Portugal in September 2022.

San Marino cannot qualify for the World Cup and have already finished last in fifth place in their group, though the fact they have no points is no surprise considering the fact they have only ever won three games in their history.

The nation were defeated 4-0 by Cyprus last time out on October 12, and they head to Mestsky Stadion on the back of nine consecutive losses.

La Serenissima failed to score in six of those fixtures, while they also conceded at least three goals seven times.

Roberto Cevoli's side will take on the Czech Republic for the seventh time when they clash on Thursday, but they have been beaten in every meeting to date, conceded at least three goals and failed to find the back of the net.

San Marino lost 10-0 against Austria on October 9 in their most recent away match, and that was their fifth consecutive defeat on their travels.

Czech Republic form (all competitions):

San Marino form (all competitions):

Team News

Kostl is certain to start stalwarts such as Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek, who are set to appear at right-back and in midfield respectively.

Martin Vitik and Robin Hranac may be paired together in the middle of a back four, while goalkeeper Matej Kovar will hope to keep a clean sheet.

Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick has scored three times in his last two games for his club, and he will likely come into the XI.

San Marino shot-stopper Edoardo Colombo could be shielded by centre-backs Michele Cevoli and Dante Rossi.

In the forward line, Filippo Berardi and Lorenzo Lazzari are candidates to play either side of Nicola Nanni.

Czech Republic possible starting lineup:

Kovar; Coufal, Vitik, Hranac, Jemelka; Cerv, Soucek; Cerny, Sulc, Kusej; Schick

San Marino possible starting lineup:

Colombo; Benvenuti, Cevoli, Rossi, Riccardi; Golinucci, Capicchioni, Zannoni; Berardi, Nanni, Lazzari

We say: Czech Republic 4-0 San Marino

Though Thursday's result is ultimately meaningless for the Czech Republic, it would be sensible to get back to winning ways before their crunch clash against Gibraltar.

San Marino's history in international football is littered with heavy defeats, and there is no reason to doubt the hosts' ability to win by a convincing margin against the visitors.

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