Czech Republic, team that is preparing to play the World Cup 2026 in Group A along with South Korea, South Africa and Mexico, defeated Guatemala 3-1 in Harrison, New Jersey.
The Europeans took advantage of their opportunities and two specific errors of the Bicolor to keep the victory.
This was a friendly duel that served as part of their preparation for the most important tournament in international soccer.
The first blow came only in the 11th minute. Pavel Šulc filtered a ball for Patrick Schickwho received from the right sector, surpassed his marker and took a powerful left-footed shot that beat the Guatemalan goalkeeper to place the 1-0.
Despite the Czech dominance in possession, Guatemala responded with danger in the 21st minute. After a recovery in defense, the Bicolor found spaces for the counterattack and José Rosales was close to equalizing the score with a shot that passed very close to the post.
The tying score came five minutes before halftime. A long throw-in caused a lack of coordination between defender Ladislav Krejčí, goalkeeper Matěj Kovář and Štěpán Chaloupek. The ball was loose inside the area and William Fajardo took advantage of the error to score 1-1 with a low finish.
For the second half, coach Miroslav Koubek made several modifications and the changes ended up being decisive to regain control of the scoreboard.
In the 69th minute, a long sequence of passes ended with David Douděra’s precise cross into the area. Tomáš Chorý won the position and scored with a header to make it 2-1leaving the national goalkeeper without options.
When Guatemala tried to react, the final blow came. In the 79th minute, a turnover on the way out was punished by Denis Višinskýwho pushed the ball into the back of the net to establish the 3-1 final and sign his first goal with the Czech Republic senior team.
The Europeans still generated some more options during the close of the match, but the scoreboard no longer moved. With this result, Czech Republic concluded one of its last tests before the 2026 World Cupwhere he will share a group with South Korea, South Africa and Mexico.
For Guatemala, the friendly represented a demanding evaluation against a World Cup rival that showed why he is considered one of the most competitive teams in current European football.