‘He’s on the decline’ – Tomas Soucek destroyed by Czechia media despite draw vs Croatia
Tomas Soucek has had a tricky start to the season at West Ham.
The once ever-reliable midfielder is rapidly declining as his age begins to show.
For West Ham, Soucek has been suspended in recent weeks after being sent off against Tottenham.
However, despite not playing, Soucek has still managed to impress Nuno Espirito Santo at the London Stadium as he looks to quickly regain his spot in the starting XI.
Now, these ambitions may have suffered a setback after his performance for the Czech Republic.
Tomas Soucek criticised for being clumsy for Czechia
On the face of it, Czechia picked up a good result on Thursday as they drew 0-0 with Croatia.
However, despite remaining level on points with the Balkan outfit, Croatia have a vastly superior goal difference, as well as a game in hand.
Therefore, the media weren’t too kind to many of the players for the result, including Soucek.
- Soucek’s ability has slowly been declining
- The midfielder is set to hit 31 years old later this season
- His performances for Czechia have also been noticably poor recently
The West Ham star received some pretty hefty criticism for the display, with Fotbal Zpravy on 10 October reflecting on his declining ability in their assessment.
It read: “It is hard not to notice the performance decline he has experienced in the last year.
“He seemed clumsy on the pitch and was late to the ball several times because of this.
“He and Lukas Cerva lack the necessary creativity, and the defenders used them minimally when passing.
“It is also interesting to compare his touches with the ball compared to Modric. The Czech midfielder lost in this respect by a landslide.”
How bad was Soucek vs Croatia?
Soucek had a match to forget on Thursday.
According to Fotmob on 10 October, the midfielder had the fewest touches of any outfield player to play 90 minutes at 33.
On top of this, Soucek struggled both defensively and offensively as his poor form continued.
| Tomas Soucek vs Croatia | |
| Minutes | 90 |
| Touches | 33 |
| Shots | 2 |
| Chances created | 0 |
| Ground duels won | 40% |
| Aerial duels won | 20% |
While West Ham decided to keep Soucek in the summer despite the interest in the midfielder, this now looks like a poor decision.
The midfielder is clearly on the decline, and question marks need to be raised on whether he is still good enough to play in the Premier League.
It will be interesting to see if Nuno recalls him into the starting XI after the international break.
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