A number of West Ham United’s international stars were in action again this week for their respective countries.
The Hammers have 19 players away on international duty ahead of their return to Premier League action next weekend against relegation rivals Southampton. On Monday evening there were two fixtures involving three West Ham stars, with Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek in action for the Czech Republic, whereas Ollie Scarles made another appearance for England’s U18s.
The Czechs got their qualifying campaign off to a terrific start with a 3-1 win against Poland on Friday night. Despite missing West Ham’s last three games with a heel injury, Coufal started that fixture alongside Hammers teammate Soucek, with the former grabbing an assist for the opener in the first minute.
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The West Ham duo were in the starting line-up again on Monday night in Moldova. Coufal and Soucek played through the whole 90 minutes as they were held to a frustrating goalless draw in Chisinau, with Coufal picking up a booking in the fixture.
Ollie Scarles came off the bench to feature for England’s U18s in the final fixture of their tour of Croatia. The young Lions defeated Switzerland 3-1, with Scarles replacing Arsenal’s Lino Sousa in the 64th minute.
The midfielder, who signed his first pro contract with the Irons in December, made his full debut for the U18s against Belgium on Friday night, playing the full 90 minutes of the 3-0 defeat.
Two more West Ham players featured in matchday squads but were unused substitutes. Alphonse Areola remains on the periphery of the France starting eleven after Didier Deschamps confirmed ahead of their Euro qualifying fixtures against the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland that Mike Maignan would become the first-choice goalkeeper following Hugo Lloris’ international retirement.
The AC Milan stopper managed to keep a clean sheet in both fixtures as France thumped the Dutch 4-0 in the Stade de France before their 1-0 victory in Dublin on Monday evening, with Areola an unused substitute in both games.
West Ham U21s captain Krisztian Hegyi earned his first senior call-up to the Hungary squad this month, but the 20-year-old goalkeeper was not in the matchday squad for the friendly against Estonia on Friday night and was an unused substitute during Hungary’s 3-0 win against Bulgaria on Monday.
On Tuesday evening, there are nine international fixtures to look out for that could feature players from West Ham’s senior and youth ranks. Thilo Kehrer could be involved for Germany in their friendly against Belgium, whereas Nayef Aguerd is in line to feature in Morocco’s friendly against Peru.
Ben Johnson was a late substitute in a 4-0 win for the England U21s against France on Saturday ahead of their friendly on Tuesday night against Croatia.
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