Ireland v Czech Republic: Squad News And Form Ahead Of Playoff

We’re a matter of weeks away from Ireland’s massive World Cup playoff semi-final against the Czech Republic, with an anxious wait on the fitness of several pivotal players.

The Boys in Green reached the playoffs in heroic style with back-to-back wins over Portugal and Hungary in November, but a few of the players who starred in those games are doubts for March’s semi-final in Prague.

It can be hard to keep tabs on every player in the Ireland camp, so we’ve gathered all of the injury news – and a brief update on Irish players in form – in one handy place for you.

We will update this post weekly right up to when Heimir Hallgrímsson names his Ireland squad for March’s do-or-die World Cup playoff semi-final against the Czech Republic.

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Ireland v Czech Republic: Ireland’s injury fears

As of January 22nd, Josh Cullen is the only Ireland player who has been confirmed to miss March’s play-off against the Czech Republic.

Cullen suffered a severe ACL injury in Burnley’s draw with Everton last month, which has ruled him out for the rest of the season. Should Ireland qualify for the World Cup, he will also miss that.

It’s a massive blow for Heimir Hallgrímsson, who has (bar injury-enforced absences) started the Burnley captain at the base of midfield in every game of his tenure thus far.

Of the other sidelined players, Adam Idah will be the biggest concern for Ireland. The Swansea striker picked up a hamstring injury with a prospective three-month recovery time on St. Stephen’s Day – exactly three months before the game in Prague.

Idah featured in all but one of Ireland’s games in their qualifying group, scoring the last-gasp equaliser in the home game against Hungary, and would be a major absentee if he were to miss the playoff window.

Josh Honohan arrived at Lincoln City from Shamrock Rovers with a “load-related” injury, and his new club are keen not to rush the left-back back to action.

 

Ireland injury report: The good news

There has been some good news for Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson, with Chiedozie Ogbene and Seamus Coleman returning to action with their clubs in recent weeks after injury layoffs.

Evan Ferguson also returned to action for Roma on Thursday night after almost a month on the sidelines, and earned some rare praise from temperamental manager Gian Piero Gasperini.

“In the last few games, his attitude has changed, and his condition has probably changed too,” Gasperini said after Ferguson played the full 90 minutes in Roma’s 2-0 win over Stuttgart.

“Compared to a few months ago, he’s a player who stays in the game, he seems to me to be a player who is present and not intangible like at the start of the season.”

Robbie Brady, too, is expected to return in the coming weeks, having not kicked a football since June. Brady was a consistent starter in the opening games of Hallgrímsson’s tenure, and will be right in the mix to feature in Prague should he be declared fit.

In total, 49 different players have featured in Ireland matchday squads under Heimir Hallgrímsson. Below is every single one of those 49 who are suffering from injury concerns ahead of the March playoff window. We’ve also included players Hallgrímsson has confirmed the Ireland coaches are keeping an eye on.

Bar Cullen, all the below players are projected to return to action in time for the Czech Republic game, but their fitness will be of concern to the Ireland head coach.

Player
Club
Injury
Expected return

Josh Cullen
Burnley
ACL
September (will miss playoff and World Cup)

Josh Honohan
Lincoln City
Load-related
Unconfirmed

Will Smallbone
Millwall
Hamstring
Early February

Robbie Brady
Preston
Calf
February

Gavin Bazunu
Stoke
Hip
Late February

Andrew Omobamidele
Strasbourg
Calf
1-2 weeks

Adam Idah
Swansea
Hamstring
March

James Abankwah
Watford
Knock
Late January

 

Irish form guide

Troy Parrott has not let up his goalscoring exploits since his hat-trick heroics in Budapest. The Ireland striker notched up another treble in a famous 6-1 win for AZ over giants Ajax last week, and has four goals and an assist in his last three games.

The other main man up front, Evan Ferguson, is expected to return to action for Roma in the coming days after some time on the sidelines with a back injury.

Elsewhere, reserve goalkeeper Max O’Leary is expected to complete a move from Bristol City to West Brom before the conclusion of the January window. His chances of being involved in March have gone up slightly with the injury to Gavin Bazunu this week.

Alan Browne has not featured for Ireland since the very first window under Heimir Hallgrímsson, but could be in contention to return to the squad in March with the build-up of injuries at wing-back and midfield. He has been in fine form of late for Middlesbrough.

 

How Ireland might line up with the players currently fit

If the playoff were today, here is how Heimir Hallgrímsson might set his team up.

 

Czech Republic camp report

The Czech Republic have been in turmoil of late, with fans up in arms after a poor qualifying group that saw them battered 5-1 by Croatia and suffer a historic defeat in the Faroe Islands.

That loss to the Faroes was the final game of Ivan Hasek’s tenure, with the head coach sacked ahead of the closing qualifying game against Gibraltar.

He has been replaced by Miroslav Koubek, who has exclusively worked in Czech club football and won the 2015 league title with Viktoria Plzen.

The Czechs currently have no major injury concerns.

 

When is Ireland v Czech Republic?

Ireland travel to the Fortuna Arena in Prague on Thursday, March 26th for their World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final against the Czech Republic. Kick-off is at 7:45pm Irish time.

Information correct as of January 22nd, 2026

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