West Ham United stalwarts Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal have been included in the Czech Republic’s squad for two UEFA Nations League B Group 1 ties to be played during the October 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 Ukraine.
The Czech Republic will welcome Albania to the epet ARENA – home to Sparta Prague, on Friday 11 October, before travelling to Wrocław Stadium in Poland to take on Ukraine on Monday 14 October. Both matches will kick-off at 8.45pm local time (7.45pm BST).
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.
Coufal started at right-back in both ties and now has 47 caps and a single goal for the Czech Republic since debuting in 2017.
The pair have lined up alongside one another 255 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 195 occasions, and Coufal alongside Bowen 155 times.
