 Karabec in 2025 withHamburger SV | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (2003-07-02)2 July 2003 (age 22) | ||
| Place of birth | Prague, Czech Republic | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder,winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Lyon (on loan fromSparta Prague) | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2016 | Bohemians 1905 | ||
| 2016–2020 | Sparta Prague | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019– | Sparta Prague | 107 | (12) |
| 2022–2023 | →Sparta Prague B | 5 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | →Hamburger SV (loan) | 31 | (3) |
| 2025– | →Lyon (loan) | 11 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017–2018 | Czech Republic U15 | 10 | (3) |
| 2018–2019 | Czech Republic U16 | 14 | (3) |
| 2019–2020 | Czech Republic U19 | 8 | (0) |
| 2020– | Czech Republic U21 | 29 | (5) |
| 2025– | Czech Republic | 4 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:06, 9 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 November 2025 | |||
Adam Karabec (born 2 July 2003) is a Czech professionalfootballer who plays as anattacking midfielder orwinger forLigue 1 clubLyon, on loan fromSparta Prague, and theCzech Republic national team. He was included inThe Guardian's "Next Generation" list for 2020.[1]
After a long spell in the youth academy ofBohemians 1905, which he had joined at the age of six, in 2016 Karabec gained a move to fellowPrague-based club Sparta Prague and began making it through theLetenští's youth teams. By the beginning of the2019–20 season, Karabec was already a member of Sparta's under-19 squad, despite being only sixteen. In July 2019, he was named "Player of the Tournament" in theCEE Cup.[2] By September 2019, he had also begun to play for thereserve team in theirregional group of the national third division.
It took less than five months to the midfielder to impress the then head coachVáclav Jílek and gain a call-up to join the first team. Karabec subsequently made his professional debut on 23 February 2020, coming on as a replacement forDavid Moberg Karlsson at the 88th minute of his side's 1–0 loss againstSigma Olomuc. After collecting other three appearances as a substitute and scoring his first goal in a 4–1 win againstKarviná, he also made his first start on 10 June 2020, as he featured in Sparta's 2–0 win againstOpava and was replaced byGeorges Mandjeck at the 76th minute.[3]
On 4 July 2024, Karabec joined German2. Bundesliga clubHamburger SV on a loan with option to make the move permanent.[4] On 12 August 2025, he joinedLigue 1 clubLyon on a one-year loan deal with an option to make transfer permanent.[5] Later that month, on 23 August, he scored his first goal in a 3–0 victory overMetz.[6]
A youth international for Czech Republic at several levels, in September 2020, Karabec received his first call-up both by theUnder-21 and thesenior national teams.[7]
On 2 September 2020, he made his debut for the former squad againstSan Marino U21, registering an assist forVáclav Drchal's opener which ended up in a 6–0 victory for the Czechs.[citation needed] Exactly one week later, Karabec was featured on the bench in the senior team'sUEFA Nations League match againstScotland.[citation needed]
Karabec played for the Czech Republic in the UEFA European Under-21 championships in2021,2023 and2025, and thus became the first Czech player to appear in three UEFA European Under-21 championships.[8] On 8 September 2025, he debuted for theCzech Republic national football team in a 1–1 friendly draw againstSaudi Arabia.[9]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sparta Prague | 2019–20 | Czech First League | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | 1 | |
| 2020–21 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | 31 | 3 | ||
| 2021–22 | 30 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8[b] | 0 | 42 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 28 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | 21 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7[a] | 0 | 30 | 5 | ||
| Total | 107 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 141 | 13 | ||
| Sparta Prague B | 2022–23 | Czech National Football League | 5 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | ||
| Hamburger SV (loan) | 2024–25 | 2. Bundesliga | 31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 33 | 3 | |
| Lyon (loan) | 2025–26 | Ligue 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| Career total | 154 | 16 | 14 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 194 | 17 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Republic | 2025 | 4 | 2 |
| Total | 4 | 2 | |
Scores and results list the Czech Republic's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 12 October 2025 | Tórsvøllur,Tórshavn,Faroe Islands |  Faroe Islands | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2. | 17 November 2025 | Andrův stadion,Olomouc,Czech Republic |  Gibraltar | 4–0 | 6–0 |
Sparta Prague
Individual
