Czech Republic vs Ukraine

The Czech Republic will be desperate to get in the win column this week when they take on Ukraine at the Fortuna Arena in Prague.

Amends are in order for the Czech Republic after they followed up their worst-ever European Championship foray as an independent nation with a humiliating 4-1 defeat to Georgia in their opening Nations League fixture. Indeed, the Czechs failed to claim a single win en route to their group-stage elimination in the summer tournament (D1, L2), with the pressure mounting on head coach Ivan Hasek. Hasek’s next task is to reignite the home side’s form as they hope to return to League A after suffering relegation in 2022/23, having lost four of their six matches in the highest tier (W1, D1). Hasek’s reign has been far from impressive, yet there’s a silver lining, with the 61-year-old manager winning both previous home games in charge of his home country.

In the meantime, Ukraine’s heartbreaking Euro 2024 exit on goal difference alone (W1, D1, L1) was a bitter pill to swallow, leaving the nation’s morale in tatters amidst the ongoing war. Slow to recover from another bad beat, Serhiy Rebrov’s side wasted a second-half lead in a 2-1 home loss to Albania in their Nations League opener, derailing their hopes of returning to League A for the first time since 2020/21. But playing the Czechs is potentially a good omen for the Ukrainians, considering they ran out victorious in both previous Nations League encounters between the countries to earn League A promotion in the competition’s inaugural edition in 2018/19. That’s an encouragement they desperately need now that they face the risk of losing back-to-back matches for the first time since 2020.