After claiming a dramatic penalty shootout victory over the Republic of Ireland five days ago, the Czechs hosted a Denmark team that swatted aside North Macedonia in swashbuckling fashion.
The hosts’ FIFA ranking of 43rd, 23 places lower than the Danes, made Miroslav Koubek’s side the underdogs, but they showed their bite early on here when taking a third-minute lead.
Vladimír Coufal's corner was cleared into the path of Pavel Šulc, who fired home a wonderful right-footed strike from the edge of the area, which flew past Mads Hermansen.
Denmark’s response to falling behind so early was encouraging, though, as Rasmus Højlund forced Matěj Kovář into action at his near post, before the shot-stopper made a fine stop to parry over Gustav Isaksen's dipping free-kick.
Brian Riemer’s men were continuing to dominate possession as the half wore on, but they were almost undone at the end of a blistering counter-attack when Lukáš Provod latched onto Šulc’s sublime through ball, seeing him dink an effort that was diverted just past the far post by Hermansen.
The Czechs remained resolute in their shape after the restart, looking to grind their way towards a famous victory against a Denmark team seemingly running out of answers in a bid to keep their own WC dream alive.
However, they restored parity via a set piece with 72 minutes on the clock when Joachim Andersen outjumped Kovář from Mikkel Damsgaard’s delivery to power home a bullet header, breaking the hosts’ stubborn resistance.
Riemer’s men were camped inside the Czech half in a bid to score a potentially decisive second, and Damsgaard almost provided it in emphatic fashion when his long-range strike sailed inches past the post.
De Rød-Hvide continued to press for a winner in the closing stages, but the game went into ET with the goal being the Danes’ only shot on target of the second period.
Their lack of attacking creativity would prove to be very costly, as the Epet ARENA erupted into raptures with a second Czech goal 10 minutes after the restart.
Tomáš Souček made a nuisance of himself inside the box from Coufal's cross, and the ball fell kindly for captain Ladislav Krejčí to fire home a deflected strike past Hermansen.
But just when the hosts looked to be edging their way to the finals, Riemer’s team hit back to restore parity once again.
Kasper Høgh met Anders Dreyer’s corner with a stunning header to score his first senior international goal, deflating the atmosphere of a partisan crowd, and ultimately sending the contest to a penalty shootout.
Momentum shifted in favour of the hosts when Højlund hit the bar, and after Dreyer and Mathias Jensen both also failed to convert from 12 yards, Michal Sadílek converted the decisive spot-kick to start the party.
This will go down as one of the finest results in the Czech Republic’s recent footballing history, with Šulc, Souček, and Krejčí emulating the class of 2006, including Petr Čech, Tomáš Rosický and Pavel Nedvěd, in representing the national team at the WC. They will now join a group consisting of co-hosts Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea at the finals.