West Ham United defender Vladimír Coufal says he is relishing the opportunity of representing Czech Republic at this summer’s UEFA European Championship finals.
Coufal was a key figure in another successful season at Club level, and has been rewarded for strong 2023/24 campaign, in which he made 47 appearances as the Hammers finished ninth in the Premier League and reached the quarter-finals of both the UEFA Europa League and EFL Cup.
The 31-year-old, who has 42 caps to his name, made five appearances and played every minute at the COVID-delayed Euro 2020 tournament across the continent, as the Czech Republic took on Scotland and England en route to the quarter-finals, where they were defeated narrowly 2-1 by Denmark.
He will be joined by midfielder Tomáš Souček, who is set to captain Ivan Hašek’s Czech Republic side in Germany, having also been an important member of that memorable run three years ago.
Coufal said: “It’s the second biggest tournament in international football [after the FIFA World Cup], so I am really proud to be a part of the squad and be called up for the Euros, and hopefully we will have a successful tournament and our country will be proud of us. We have a new manager, so hopefully he will also be successful with us.
“Hopefully I will perform to the same level for the national team that I have in the Premier League. I would like some more assists because this year was quite good for me in terms of performances. I just need to keep going and we will see what will happen this summer with the national team.
“At the Euros you have to go through from the group, and then you never know what can happen because at the knockout stages it is just a one-off game. Everything is possible.”
Amid a period of transition for the Czech Republic’s national team, Coufal is excited to be part of a new-look, talented and youthful squad under new manager Hašek, and is hopeful of going deep into this year’s tournament in Germany.
“Tomáš [Souček] is the captain for Czech Republic and I am very proud to be part of his side as he is my brother here [at West Ham] and it is the same when we represent our national team,” he said. “He is the main face of our national team and obviously I am trying to help him as much as I can. He is a big captain and hopefully he will lead us to a successful Euros.
“I hope so [that we can go further in the competition this year]. Our squad is quite talented, but we have a lot of young players, so we will see how they deal with the pressure of the Euros. But I trust them and I believe in them, so they have to experience games like this and they will continue to grow. We made the quarter-finals at the last Euros, so for me, I would like to do the same at least, if not better it. We were unlucky when we were beaten by Denmark, which was just one step from the bronze medal. Hopefully we will be more successful this year."
Led by dazzling attackers like Pavel Nedvěd, Tomáš Rosický and Milan Baroš, Coufal grew up idolising what he recalls as 'The Golden Generation' of Czech football, as they reached the semi-finals in Portugal at Euro 2004, and were perhaps unfortunate not to have ended the long wait for their maiden major trophy.
But now he is hoping his national side can reproduce the same fate of those highs of two decades ago and can earn their own status ‘Golden Boys’ status with a successful tournament in Germany.
“Obviously it is a big honour and I am very appreciative of the fact I can play with the best players in my country, be friends with them and also talk with them,” he continued. “When I was a kid, I always dreamed about being at the Euros and to be a part of the national team, so when you are able to be a part of it for so many years like I am now, it is perfect, but has all come through my work.”
“It was absolutely amazing to watch these Euros in 2004. I was a kid, but remember when we got to the semi-finals against Greece and they scored the winner from a late corner against us. I was crying a lot but it was good memories as we refer to that team as the ‘Golden Boys’ because the team should have definitely won that Euro 2004 in Portugal. It was unbelievable generation of players and a lot of those players played here in England or with other top clubs. I believe they will still be very disappointed they didn’t win that tournament.”
“I try to behave and try to do everything I can to be an idol, role model or hero for the future generation of Czech football players, so hopefully I am for some of them at least, but you have to prove it on the big occasion as well. Now, a big occasion is coming, and I have made sure personally, and as a team we have to prove we are good enough to go through the group stage and go as far as we can in the knockout stages. We want to heroes not just for the kids but for all the Czech Republic. The atmosphere around the national team in recent years has been quite negative, so we have to change this mentality and want to make sure everyone becomes a fan of the national team again.”
This summer, the Czech Republic have been drawn in Group F at Euro 2024, where they will first take on Portugal on Tuesday 18 June (8pm BST), before facing Georgia on Sunday 22 June (2pm BST) and Turkey on Wednesday 26 June (8pm BST).
