When Sweden and the Czech Republic meet in their World Cup playoff tie on Thursday evening, both teams will be hoping to propel themselves to the brink of qualification with kickoff at 10:45 pm.
Sweden will be feeling confident about reaching the World Cup Finals for the second successive time, even though they have fallen behind Spain in Group G.
Moreover, Sweden was drawn with Spain and now finds themselves with two tough fixtures against the Czech Republic and Poland before finishing off against Finland. But Sweden will feel that they can go all the way, having finished third in their qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup, only losing out to France on goal difference.
It has been a long time since Sweden suffered a home defeat: Since September 2020. So it will mean a lot to Sweden’s upcoming opponents that Sweden has not always excelled away from their home patch.
Ireland has lost just once in their last five matches, with draws against Ukraine and Wales being taken from a losing position. They reached the Euro 2020 quarter-finals courtesy of defeating the Netherlands along the way, although they did not score in either of their matches against Belgium or Wales.
However, they will be confident of causing problems to any top-tier European team as they did in September when they defeated the Netherlands 1-0.
Sweden vs. Czech Republic Head to Head
Both sides have one game against each other that ended in a draw. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Spain 1-0 Sweden
- Georgia 2-0 Sweden
- Sweden 2-0 Greece
- Sweden 3-0 Kosovo
- Greece 2-1 Sweden
Away
- The Czech Republic 2-0 Estonia
- Czech Republic 7-0 Kuwait
- Belarus 0-2 Czech Republic
- Czech Republic 2-2 Wales
- Czech Republic 1-1 Ukraine
Sweden Team News
Manchester United midfielder Anthony Elanga may make his Sweden debut this month, although he will most likely feature as a substitute. Emil Krafth and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are both suspended, the latter’s ban possibly forcing Victor Lindelof to move to right-back and Marcus Danielson to partner him in central defense.
Czech Republic Team News
Having ruled out Patrik Schick, highly-rated Adam Hlozek may be drafted into the Czech Republic attack. At the same time, Jakub Brabec could deputize at right-back with Vladimir Coufal having not played for several weeks due to a groin injury.
Prediction and Odds
With the Czech Republic having an advantage in pitch-related areas such as passing and kicking, we predict that they will be at the Sweden team by 1–2.
- Czech Republic Win
- Goals Under 3.5
- Schick to Score
