Following a decisive 97-80 victory over Sweden in Prague on Friday,the Czech Republic national basketball team looks to continue its World Cup qualifying campaign. The win provides a much-needed boost for a program still recovering from a winless performance at the 2025 eurobasket tournament, where they finished second to last [[1]]. The team now faces a challenging road match against Estonia on Monday, complicated by the absence of key player Jan Veselý due to rehabilitation.
The Czech Republic’s national basketball team secured a decisive victory over Sweden on Friday, November 29, 2025, with a final score of 97-80. The win, achieved in Prague, marks a strong start to their qualifying campaign and signals a potential turnaround for the team after a disappointing performance at the recent EuroBasket tournament.
“The desire, energy, and determination to make up for this summer were immense,” said Tomáš Kyzlink after the game, referencing the team’s experience at EuroBasket, where they finished second to last and failed to win a single match. “After that EuroBasket, there was a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, and none of us wanted to end like that.”
The Czech team has an opportunity to further demonstrate their renewed strength on Monday, December 2, 2025, in a match against Estonia. However, they will be playing on Estonian soil, lacking the home-court advantage they enjoyed in Prague. Adding to the challenge, the team will be without key player Jan Veselý, who is currently focusing on rehabilitation and did not travel with the team.
The team is aiming to prove that their performance at EuroBasket in Riga, where they finished near the bottom without a single win, was an anomaly. Kyzlink stated, “We have a huge motivation because we know how that game turned out at EuroBasket, so we’re going to go for it fully and want to win.”
The Czech national team will field the same starting lineup against Estonia as they did against Sweden, with coach Luboš Bartoň maintaining the same twelve-player roster that proved successful in Prague. Despite this consistency, the upcoming match will be challenging, as Estonia unexpectedly defeated Slovenia 94-93 in overtime during their opening qualifying game.
| World Cup Qualification – European Stage: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Group H: | |||
| 7:00 PM Estonia – CZECH REPUBLIC | |||
| Next Game: | |||
| 7:00 PM Sweden – Slovenia | |||
The Czech Republic’s national basketball team is looking to build momentum after a strong showing in their first qualifying match. Success in these qualifying games is crucial for the team’s chances of advancing to the World Cup, and the players are focused on overcoming challenges and achieving victory.
