Czech women lose 3-2 to Scotland and miss the 2027 World Cup

The Czech women’s football team lost 3-2 in Scotland in the second leg of the World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final and failed to reach the tournament in Brazil. The Czechs lost the first leg 0-2 at home, so Scotland went through on aggregate.

The Czechs made a superb start: in the third minute Veselá won the ball far outside the box and caught the goalkeeper off guard with a powerful 35-metre strike into the top corner. But two minutes later the hosts levelled — Davidson burst into the box and beat Votíková with the help of the post. In the 33rd minute captain Kaginová headed in from a corner to restore the visitors’ unexpected lead, 2-1.

In the second half the team were let down by two glaring defensive errors. In the 49th minute defender Bendová misplayed the ball, and McGovern scored from a tight angle into a half-empty net. Votíková then ended the hopes for good: in the 72nd minute the ball unexpectedly slipped out of her hands after a cross from the flank, and Grimshaw finished the job.

“It’s hard to assess. We started the match well and scored quickly. It’s frustrating that we conceded straight away. We need to draw conclusions. We went 2-1 up and played well again. It seemed we were capable of winning here and going through. Unfortunately, in the second half we made two huge mistakes that cost us the win,” national team coach Jitka Klimková told Czech Television.

Klimková’s contract with the association expires at the end of the year. “I would like to stay and keep working with the team; I believe in it. We need to keep improving in any case. We have to last the full 90 minutes, and the situation can only be turned around through hard work and training,” she said. In the decisive play-off final Scotland will face Sweden, while the Czechs have once again missed the chance to make their debut at a major tournament.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz