Who will replace the injured strikers in the barrage against Sweden? A difficult to impossible choice

The World Cup qualifying barrage match against Sweden in Qatar will be played on 24 March. National coach Jaroslav Šilhavy is already getting wrinkles from injuries to key players. He is most worried about the health of his forwards. Who could replace them in case they don’t recover?

Five forwards were nominated for the final tournament of the European Championship. Schick, Vydra, Krmencik, Pekhart and Hložek. Only Patrik Schick played regularly in the starting line-up. Matěj Vydra, Adam Hložek and Michael Krmenčík were regular substitutes.

Schick, Vydra, Krmenčík

Patrik Schick is currently injured and his start in the barrage is still uncertain. It will depend on whether he heals his injured calf so that the club can field him in at least one league game, which Leverkusen made a condition for releasing Patrik for national team needs.

Matej Vydra recently underwent hernia surgery. Unfortunately, he had to postpone the planned surgery due to a positive PCR test. He is currently not playing for the club, but his start is imminent. It is questionable whether he will be able to get in shape in time for the national team.

Michael Krmencik is not having a good time in Slavia at the moment. In the last few games he wasn’t even nominated for the A team matches and went to play for the B team to at least keep himself in the match rhythm. It is unlikely that he will be nominated for an important barrage match at the moment.

Pekhart, Hložek, Kuchta

Tomas Pekhart is not having a good time at Legia Warsaw either. The club is struggling and fighting for salvation in the Polish league. Last season, when the club won the title, Tomas had 22 goals, but this year he has only four.

Coach Šilhavy can only count on Adam Hložek. Even though his form is not great, his nomination can probably be counted on.

But who will complete the squad if Schick and Vydra don’t recover? Maybe Jan Kuchta, who moved to Lokomotiv Moscow in the winter, could get a chance. But he is only playing preparatory matches so far. But he’s doing very well. He has already scored 5 goals in six games.

Jurecka, Lingr

The next selection has big question marks. Václav Jurečka from Slovácko is the top scorer in the Czech league with 12 goals. However, he has only one national team start in an U19 friendly match at the age of 9.

Another alternative could be Ondřej Lingr, but he is more of an alternative under the top. Anyway, Jaroslav Šilhavy is not going to have an easy selection. Let’s all hope that Schick and Vydra will be able to recover and will be available for the barrage match.

Sources: Transfermarkt