Czech Republic vs Montenegro prediction: EUROPE: World Championship – Qualification betting tips on match 2025-06-05 18:45.
[p]Youād have to go back to 2006 for the last time the Czech Republic qualified for a World Cup finals, but their qualification campaign for the 2026 edition has got off to a flying start. The Czechs have won their opening two World Cup qualification (WCQ) games, albeit both victories were against sides ranked in the bottom eight UEFA nations by FIFA, so theyād be wise not to underestimate #73-ranked Montenegro.Ā [/p]
[p]The Czech Republic have momentum firmly on their side though, boasting a seven-match unbeaten international run (W5, D2), which included their promotion into the UEFA Nations Leagueās top tier. Most of their recent success has been built on solid showings on home turf, with the Czech Republic winning their last eight internationals to be held in their home country, while theyāve also won eight of their last nine matches to be held in PlzeÅ (D1).[/p]
[p]That makes fairly ominous reading for Montenegro, but they too have opened their WCQ campaign with two wins, also beating lowly opposition in Gibraltar and the Faroe Islands. Having never qualified for a major tournament as an independent nation, Montenegro are chasing a slice of history in this WCQ cycle, and with a favourable-looking qualification group, they may never get a better chance to break their duck.Ā [/p]
[p]With Croatia and Czech Republic the only two nations ranked above them, they may fancy their chances of finishing above at least one of them. Theyāll need to arrest a five-match losing H2H run to increase their hopes of doing just that, although somewhat concerningly, the last three H2H defeats came by a 10-1 aggregate scoreline, so suffering back-to-back WCQ away defeats for the first time ever as an independent nation seems a distinct possibility.Ā [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Czech Republicās Patrik Schick tops the UEFA WCQ goalscoring charts with three goals from two games so far, and heās amassed eight goal contributions across his last six WCQ appearances (G5, A3). If Stevan JovetiÄ makes an appearance here, heāll become Montenegroās joint all-time appearance maker with 86 caps – heās already their record scorer with 37 goals.Ā [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Montenegro havenāt drawn an international game since September 2023 (W8, L9).[/p]
[p][i]Written by Chris Wilson[/i][/p]