West Ham United midfielder Tomáš Souček has been rewarded for his fine form on international duty with a third inclusion in the EA SPORTS’ FIFA Team of the Week this season.
The recognition comes off the back of Souček’s ‘perfect’ hat-trick for the Czech Republic against Estonia last week, which saw the 26-year-old score with a header, a 25-yard right-foot shot and a close-range left-foot finish in the space of 17 minutes.
In doing so in the 6-2 win, Souček helped his nation get off to the best possible start in their FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, in the process becoming only the third Czech midfielder to score a hat-trick for his nation in a qualifier.
Souček has since featured – along with Hammers teammate Vladimír Coufal – in his country’s 1-1 draw at home to Belgium on Saturday and their 1-0 defeat in Wales on Tuesday.
Hammers will be hoping that Souček can continue his rich vein of form in Claret and Blue when he returns to Club football, having already scored 12 goals since joining West Ham in January 2020.
A big week in qualifying. ?⚽️
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) March 31, 2021
An international flavoured #TOTW 27, available now in #FUT.#FIFA21 pic.twitter.com/TxRW9W93Eb
The Czech Footballer of the Year’s box-to-box midfield displays have already yielded two other FIFA Team of the Week inclusions this season: the first on 6 January, having scored the match-winner against Everton, and the second on 4 February, after goals against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.
Now, Souček becomes only the second-ever Iron – after Marko Arnautovic in 2018/19 – to be chosen by EA SPORTS’ premier football gaming title for a third upgrade in a single campaign.
It is also the ninth occasion this season where a West Ham player has featured in the FIFA 21 Team of the Week: Jarrod Bowen, Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal, Angelo Ogbonna (upgraded twice), Jesse Lingard and now himself (three times) have received in-game Team of the Week ‘in-form’ cards.
As a result of his third inclusion, Souček’s card is upgraded still further, with the midfielder's overall FIFA Ultimate Team rating now standing at a dominant 87 – the best West Ham card in the game so far.
Already a popular pick for Premier League squads in the popular game mode, Souček’s FIFA card now boasts a defensive rating of 87 (up from an initial base rating of 80) and physical attributes rated 89 (up from 83).
Other key boosts see Souček’s pace increased to 77 (from 68); his shooting to 81 (from 69), his passing to 80 (from 73); and his dribbling to 81 (from 74).
West Ham United fans can collect his Team of the Week card in FIFA 21 Ultimate Team packs from 6pm on Wednesday 31 March. The card will be available until 5.59pm on Wednesday 7 April.
For more exciting FIFA 21 and gaming content, follow the official @WestHamEsports accounts on Twitter and Instagram.
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