PRAGUE: At 74, Miroslav Koubek will be the oldest coach at the 2026 World Cup, leading a Czech Republic team with few stars that he hopes will be “united, unyielding and determined”.
His goal will be to reach the play-offs from a Group A that also comprises Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. “The group is extremely tough, also because of the climate we will face,” Koubek, a serious-looking man who occasional flashes a smile, told reporters.
The Czechs will play against South Korea in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, against South Africa in the southern US city of Atlanta and then co-hosts Mexico in Mexico City. “Our goal is to reach the play-offs. That would be a success,” Koubek added.
The Czech Republic have not missed a single Euro tournament since becoming an independent country in 1993, but this World Cup will be only their second since then, following a speedy exit from the 2006 tournament.
They secured qualification after two nerve-wracking play-off games at home against Ireland and Denmark, winning both on penalties after focusing largely on defence. Koubek brushed dignity aside when he let the team toss him in the air to celebrate after the Denmark game, before facing the cameras with tear-stained eyes and assuming the mantle of the tournament´s elder statesman. “I have heard that Curacao coach Dick Advocaat is not going, he has stepped down, so I´ll be the oldest one. So what?” Koubek said after the Czechs secured qualification.
He admitted he partied “until the morning” after the game. “I´m no drinker but I like to have two or three beers when there´s an opportunity,” added Koubek, whose greatest coaching success is the 2015 Czech title with Viktoria Plzen (Pilsen), based in a city known as the home of the Pilsner lager. But that was an exception as his rules include “discipline, both on the pitch and in private, and giving absolutely everything in the game”.
