Czechia have never beaten Croatia and must do it in Osijek without four regular players

Czechia go into their last Nations League group game in Osijek on Sunday (8:45 p.m. local, 2:45 p.m. ET) needing something they have never done: beat Croatia. Santi Denia's side are bottom of Group A3 with zero points from five games, and they will face Slaven Bilić's team at Opus Arena without four players from the squad. Center back Ladislav Krejčí is suspended, defender Štěpán Chaloupek is ill, and midfielders Lukáš Provod and Martin Šubert were ruled out for health reasons.

Spain (15 points) and England (12) have already taken the two quarterfinal spots in the group. Croatia are third with three points, all of them from a 2-1 win in Prague on the opening night in September. A draw on Sunday keeps Croatia third, so Czechia need the win.

Finishing last carries a different risk in this edition. Because the Nations League grows to 18 teams per league for 2028-29, UEFA changed the rules: only the two lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams in League A are relegated directly, while the two best fourth-placed sides go to the March play-offs. Türkiye and Serbia are also confirmed in fourth place in their groups with zero points, and Wales have three. A Czech loss would leave them in that comparison with nothing on the board.

Krejčí's ban comes from his second red card of the campaign, against Spain on Thursday. Bilić noted that Czechia have been shown three red cards in this Nations League and said the team "never fell apart" while playing short-handed. Chaloupek's place in the squad went to Filip Prebsl, a 23-year-old Viktoria Plzeň center back on his first senior call-up, and Sparta Prague's Matěj Jurásek was brought in for Provod, according to Večernji list.

Denia has not said who will start in goal and said only that he trusts all three keepers. Czech outlet iSport expects Antonín Kinský to play behind David Zima and Tomáš Vlček.

Croatia have no such problems. Bilić said nobody came back injured from Thursday's 2-1 loss at Wembley, Luka Sučić has recovered, and Ivan Perišić returns from suspension. Luka Modrić, 41, could earn his 208th cap.

The more unexpected subplot is Idris Hopi. The 18-year-old Teplice winger made his Czech debut against Spain, and his parents are Croatian, so he could still have chosen to play for Croatia. Asked about him at Saturday's press conference, Bilić was caught off guard. "Idris Hopi? Idris Hopi?" he said, according to the Czech news agency ČTK. "That name doesn't sound very Croatian, more Kosovar or Albanian. Of course I know him, but I didn't know he had Croatian roots." With so many absences, Hopi has a real chance to start.

History is against the visitors. Croatia are unbeaten in their seven previous meetings with Czechia, with four wins and three draws. Bilić also ruled out playing for the point: "The opponent has to win, but even so I won't be satisfied if we hold 0-0 for a long time. We want to play our game, be strong on the ball and control the match." That leaves Denia needing a first-ever win over Croatia with a patched-up defense, or a long wait on other results to find out whether Czechia are still in League A.