'We have to watch out for Troy Parrott' - New Czechia boss wary of Ireland's hitman

Parrott's brace for AZ Alkmaar in last Thursday’s 2-1 first leg Conference League win over Czechia superpower Sparta Prague brought his overall tally to 31 goals.

CZECH IT OUT NOW: New Czechia boss Miroslav Koubek has singled out Troy Parrott as Ireland’s dangerman in the upcoming World Cup playoff semi-final. Pic: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne.

New Czechia boss Miroslav Koubek has singled out Troy Parrott as Ireland’s dangerman in the upcoming World Cup playoff semi-final.

Parrott bagged all five of Ireland’s goals in last November’s victories over Portugal and Hungary that edged the latter out for second place in the pool.

His brace for AZ Alkmaar in last Thursday’s 2-1 first leg Conference League win over Czechia superpower Sparta Prague brought his overall tally to 31 goals.

“We have a well-studied opponent and know everyone there,” said 74-year-old Koubek, appointed to the national team job in December.

“We must watch out for Troy Parrott. He is a player you can guard, but he is still a killer.

“We saw him score goals against Sparta last week. I hope we can guard him so that he does not prevail against us.”

Lyon playmaker Pavel Šulc has recovered from a hamstring injury to be part of the Czechia’s squad in Prague on Thursday week.

Squad announcement for the World Cup 2026 play-offs. 🇨🇿⚽ https://t.co/rgjDYZFeby

— Czech Football National Team (@ceskarepre_eng) March 17, 2026

Šulc’s value to the French team has been evidenced by their failure to win any of the five matches in his absence. The attacking midfielder, 25, was snapped up by Lyon last summer from Pilsen.

Any fears over Patrik Schick’s muscle injury were allayed when he returned to lead the Bayer Leverkusen line in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

He’ll spearhead the attack at the Fortuna Arena, with three players from the Czechia league in contention to accompany the top scorer in attack.

Overall, 14 of the 25 players selected are home-based.

Czechia’s sporting director, the legendary Pavel Nedvěd, appointed veteran domestic manager Koubek to fill the vacancy.

Together, they convinced former captain Vladimír Darida to come out of international retirement and the 35-year-old is expected to partner Tomás Soucek in central midfield.

The West Ham United mainstay was stripped of the captaincy in November and Koubek has yet to decide if he’ll be reinstated as skipper.

“My players have received materials from me because I haven't been with the team for a long time and there won't be much time once we come together next week,” Koubek added.

“I also added a comment so that they could study everything in advance. You can't create something automatic in a few days.

“That's why you want to have experienced players in the team. Half of them know me, but the material had to go out anyway.”

The semi-final will be played to a conclusion, possibly including a penalty shootout, with the winner advancing to meet either Denmark or North Macedonia for a place at the summer’s World Cup.

It’s been 20 years since Czechia last qualified for the global showpiece, a famine four years less than Ireland’s.

Heimir Hallgrímsson will name his Ireland squad on Thursday, with striker Adam Idah winning his race to recover from a hamstring strain for inclusion.

CZECHIA SQUAD

GOALKEEPERS: Lukáš Horníček (Braga), Martin Jedlička (Baník), Matěj Kovář (PSV Eindhoven).

DEFENDERS: Vladimír Coufal (Hoffenheim), Tomáš Holeš (Slavia), Robin Hranáč (Hoffenheim), David Jurásek (Slavia), Martin Vitík (Bologna), Jaroslav Zelený (Sparta), Štěpán Chaloupek (Slavia), Ladislav Krejčí (Wolverhampton).

MIDFIELDERS: Pavel Bucha (Cincinnati), Lukáš Červ (Plzeň), Adam Karabec (Lyon), Tomáš Ladra (Plzeň), Lukáš Provod (Slavia), Michal Sadílek (Slavia), Tomáš Souček (West Ham), Vladimír Darida (Hradec Králové), Pavel Šulc (Lyon), Denis Višinský (Plzeň).

FORWARDS: Tomáš Chorý (Slavia), Patrik Schick (Leverkusen), Mojmír Chytil (Slavia), Jan Kliment (Olomouc).