Souček attends Czech team training before England match

The Czech national football team trained in London ahead of Tuesday's match against England, and injured midfielder Tomáš Souček dropped by the session. He lives in London and has played for West Ham for almost seven years, so he took the opportunity that the national team had effectively come to his home turf.

The armband passes to Černý

Former national team captain Souček led out onto the pitch the current armband holder, Ladislav Krejčí, who will not be allowed to play against England due to a card suspension. When training began, Souček went over to Černý, having already found time to talk with head coach Santi Denia and his former West Ham teammate and close friend Vladimír Coufal.

“We've been talking on the phone for two months now and have discussed how he's recovering. I feel that he's a hundred percent devoted to the national team. The lads were glad to see him, and I was glad to see him. He's another player who can strengthen our team — our family,” Denia said.

Coufal said he and Souček stay in constant touch — texting and calling each other. “I knew how his recovery from the injury was going. Even our families are in touch. It was nice to see him for the first time since the World Cup, we had a laugh. You could tell he wants to be with us,” the defender shared.

Souček remembers both matches at Wembley

Souček is the only player in the current squad who featured in both of the Czech Republic's last two matches at Wembley. The first, a Euro 2020 qualifier (the tournament itself was held later, in 2021), ended in a rout: the favourites, England, won 5:0, with Raheem Sterling scoring a hat-trick and Harry Kane converting a penalty — the very same forward who will give the Czech defence trouble again on Tuesday. At the tournament itself, the Czechs battled the group favourites and lost by the narrowest margin, 0:1, but that had no bearing on qualification from the group, since it was merely a dispute over first place.

The tall midfielder played the full ninety minutes in both matches, and this time he'll be cheering on the team in civilian clothes, hoping for a better result.

When Souček could return to the national team

Souček has a chance to make the November get-together, when the Nations League group stage wraps up — the Czech Republic will host Spain at home and travel to face Croatia. He has not considered ending his international career. “He wants to rejoin the team in the future, and we're very glad about that,” Denia said earlier, adding now: “We're waiting for him.”

On Saturday, Souček took to the pitch for the first time since the ankle injury that had sidelined him for three months: he converted a penalty in West Ham's match against third-tier club Wycombe, with his team winning 2:0. Next time, he could already be taking the field in national team colours.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz