West Ham United pair Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal both started as Czech Republic drew 1-1 with Ukraine in UEFA Nations League B Group 1 on Monday evening.
The West Ham United duo both completed the full 90 minutes at Wrocław Stadium in Poland, where a point kept the Czechs a point clear of Georgia and Albania at the top of their four-team table. Ukraine have four points from four matches.
Viktoria Plzeň midfielder Lukáš Červ fired Czech Republic in front on 18 minutes with a right-foot shot into the bottom left-hand corner after Ukraine failed to clear a corner.
Both sides then traded chances before Czech captain Souček headed one wide two minutes after half-time.
Three minutes later, Ladislav Krejcí was penalised for handling the ball inside his own penalty area and Roma striker Artem Dovbyk stepped up to score from the spot and level the tie.
The Czech Republic reacted and Coufal went close to registering a second assist of the October international break when Sigma Olomouc striker Jan Kliment took his pass and forced a save from Ukraine goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.
Both teams had opportunities in the closing minutes, but neither could find a winner and the game ended even.
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 on his 74th appearance for his country. Then, on Friday night in Prague, Coufal provided an assist in a 2-0 home win over Albania.
The West Ham pair have now 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.
And that number is likely to increase in November, when the Czechs travel to Albania and host Georgia, with two victories from those ties guaranteeing them promotion to League A for the 2026/27 Nations League season.
Alphonse Areola was an unused substitute as France won 2-1 in Belgium in League A Group 2.
Overnight, Michail Antonio started for Jamaica in their important goalless home draw with Honduras in CONCACAF Nations League A Group B.
The No9 helped the Reggae Boyz finish top of the table and qualify for the quarter-finals with a point in Kingston. Antonio was booked on 77 minutes and replaced six minutes later.
Both teams went close to scoring, but Jamaica goalkeeper Andre Blake was in fine form to keep Honduras at bay.
League A Group B also included Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago and French Guiana, but as the CONCACAF Nations League is employing a ‘Swiss style’ league system, each team played just four group-stage games, with two at home and two away.
Jamaica and Honduras both advance to the quarter-finals, where they will join the top two finishers in Group A and four seeded nations – Mexico, United States, Panama and Canada. The quarter-finals will be played in November, with the semi-finals and final to take place in March 2025.
Defender Kaelan Casey was a 74th-minute substitute for England's Elite League Squad as the Young Lions scored a 3-0 victory over Czech Republic in the EURO Elite League in Doncaster on Monday evening. Minutes after being introduced, the 19-year-old was handed the captain's armband from Walsall goalkeeper Tommy Simkin when he was replaced by Chelsea's Max Merrick.
The centre-back earned his fifth cap at the Keepmoat Stadium, where Gent forward Max Dean scored twice before turning provider for Norwich City winger Kaide Gordon to add a third to seal three points for former West Ham coach Paul Nevin’s side.
