West Ham's dynamic duo, Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal, have secured their spots in the Czech Republic's preliminary roster for the upcoming European Championships set to take place in Germany this summer.
Under the helm of manager Ivan Hasek, the Czech team will be led by 29-year-old midfielder Soucek, boasting an impressive tally of 68 caps for his national side.
Despite a previous setback where Coufal was temporarily sidelined from the squad after a nightclub incident in November, the 31-year-old full-back has successfully reclaimed his position. He notably missed out on selection for the Czech squad during their two friendly matches in March.
Joining the squad are three standout players from Bayer Leverkusen's Bundesliga triumph, including striker Patrik Schick, who notably shared the top scorer title at Euro 2020, forward Adam Hlozek, and goalkeeper Matej Kovar.
During the previous edition of the European Championships, the Czech Republic advanced to the quarter-finals before being eliminated by Denmark. Their journey this year kicks off with a challenging encounter against Portugal on June 18th in Leipzig, followed by clashes with Group D contenders Georgia and Turkey in Hamburg.
The Czech Republic's provisional squad comprises a mix of seasoned talent and promising newcomers across various clubs and leagues:
Goalkeepers:
- Jindrich Stanek (Slavia Prague)
- Matej Kovar (Bayer Leverkusen)
- Vitezslav Jaros (Sturm Graz)
Defenders:
- Ladislav Krejci (Sparta Prague)
- Martin Vitik (Sparta Prague)
- Robin Hranac (Viktoria Plzen)
- Tomas Vlcek (Slavia Prague)
- Vladimir Coufal (West Ham)
- David Doudera (Slavia Prague)
- David Jurasek (Hoffenheim)
- Tomas Holes (Slavia Prague)
- David Zima (Slavia Prague)
Midfielders:
- Tomas Soucek (West Ham)
- Antonin Barak (Fiorentina)
- Michal Sadilek (Twente)
- Lukas Provod (Slavia Prague)
- Pavel Sulc (Viktoria Plzen)
- Matej Jurasek (Slavia Prague)
- Vaclav Cerny (VfL Wolfsburg)
- Lukas Cerv (Viktoria Plzen)
- Ondrej Lingr (Feyenoord)
Forwards:
- Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen)
- Adam Hlozek (Bayer Leverkusen)
- Mojmir Chytil (Slavia Prague)
- Tomas Chory (Viktoria Plzen)
- Jan Kuchta (Sparta Prague)
