{{primary_category}}
{{/primary_category}} 
Tomas Soucek unhappy with West Ham United teammate Vladimir Coufal over international development
Czech Republic captain Tomas Soucek has detailed his disappointment in West Ham and international teammate Vladimir Coufal.
Coufal, alongside Jakub Brabec and Jan Kuchta, were all sent home early from international duty for violating the Czech Republic’s internal rules, after the trio visited a nightclub in Olomouc on Saturday 18 November.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference (via Ceske Noviny, 19 November) ahead of their crunch UEFA European qualifier with Moldova on Monday 20 November, Coufal’s West Ham teammate and national team captain, Soucek, detailed his disappointment at the situation.
“I’ll be honest, I didn’t know about the action. I didn’t know it was going anywhere. I learned this in the morning when we all had to go into the room and deal with internal things. Then I learned it from the guys, who said they made a mistake and that they regretted it.
“We all regret it, me as the captain a lot because I stand by the principles. In the end, the biggest punishment is for them, they wanted to be here with us and achieve a common goal. It’s an unfortunate thing,” Souček explained.
Tension
It will be interesting to see if this issue boils over upon Soucek’s return to West Ham after the international break. Czech Republic’s game with Moldova on Monday night is as big as they come, as defeat would see them slip out of the automatic qualification spots for next summer’s UEFA European Championships in Germany.
How Soucek feels toward Coufal upon his return to England could all hinge on the result. Should the Czech Republic come through the match unscathed, all should be forgiven and forgotten. However, if Moldova are able to claim victory and leapfrog Soucek’s nation into second place in Group E, the finger could very quickly be pointed toward Coufal.
Following his mistake, the right-back will be watching on anxiously from home, unable to help his team, as he patiently awaits to see if he will be on a flight to Germany next summer.
Should they get across the line, Coufal will certainly owe Soucek a big apology and thank you.
In other West Ham news, a pundit has shared his “incredible” verdict on star midfielder James Ward-Prowse.