West Ham United axe on cards after nightmare for Vladimir Coufal
David Moyes may have to drop Vladimir Coufal from his starting line-up at West Ham after an awful international display so far with the Czech Republic against Albania.
The Hammers defender started as a right-sided wing-back for the Czech Republic and had a nightmare display in the first half after Albania took the lead.
Coufal failed to stamp his mark on the game and looked lost at times, with the expectation on him to provide both attacking threat and defensive cover, but he failed to provide either in a poor showing.
The defender gave the ball away 15 times in the first 45 minutes, completely failing to stamp his mark on the game, with one successful cross from five attempts and just 68% passing accuracy, struggling to make things stick when on the ball. [Sofascore]
Even defensively, an area where Coufal usually excels at the London Stadium, he had somewhat of a nightmare. He won just two of five duels on the ground or in the air, didn’t complete a clearance, interception, or even block a shot, and found himself booked.
Coufal’s offensive duties were not made any easier when the striker Mojmir Chytil got sent off for two bookable offences, but even before that, the defender had failed to create anything by way of attacking opportunities.
Added to that, the Albania left-hand side consisting of Mario Mitaj at left-back and Taulant Seferi on the wing completed a combined 100% dribble success, 34 accurate passes from 40 attempted, and 50% duel success rate as they caused issues for the West Ham man. [Sofascore]
The defender had failed to contribute in either half of the pitch in a terrible performance which will likely leave Moyes scratching his head, hoping this is a blip rather than a long-term issue for his man.
In other West Ham news, a journalist has questioned one “crazy” decision the Hammers have made.