West Ham United pair Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal have been included in the Czech Republic’s squad for two vital UEFA Nations League B Group 1 ties to be played during the November international break.
National-team captain and midfield talisman Souček and buccaneering right-back Coufal have both been regular members of the Czech men’s setup in recent seasons, and that trend will continue when they take on Albania and Georgia.
The Czech Republic sit top of League B Group 1 going into the final round of fixtures and know two victories will see them promoted to League A for the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League.
Souček, Coufal and company first travel to Tirana to take on Albania at the Air Albania Stadium on Saturday 16 November at 7.45pm GMT, seeking to repeat the 2-0 home win they achieved over the same opponents in October. They then return home to Olomouc, where they will face Georgia at the Andrův Stadion on Tuesday 19 November at 7.45pm GMT.
The Czechs made a nightmare start to their Nations League campaign when they were thumped 4-1 in Georgia on matchday one on 7 September but bounced back three days later to defeat Ukraine 3-2 at the Eden Arena – venue for West Ham’s 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League triumph and home to Souček and Coufal’s former club Slavia Prague. Souček netted the winner from the penalty spot against a Ukraine side which started former Hammer Andriy Yarmolenko, scoring his 14th international goal.
Czech Republic go into the final two match rounds on seven points from four matches, ahead of Georgia and Albania on six, and Ukraine on four. The group winners will be promoted to League A, while the nation which finishes bottom will be relegated to League C.
Coufal has started at right-back in all four Nations League ties and now has 49 caps and a single goal for the Czech Republic since debuting in 2017. He will hope to reach his half-century in Tirana.
The pair have lined up alongside one another 257 times for Slavia Prague, Czech Republic and West Ham – dozens more than either of them have with any other teammate.
For the record, Souček has lined up alongside Jarrod Bowen on 198 occasions, and Coufal alongside Bowen 150 times.