Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal enjoyed an eventful 2026 FIFA World Cup Group L qualifying win over Montenegro in their penultimate international for Czechia as West Ham United teammates.
The Hammers pair were both in Ivan Hašek’s starting XI at the Doosan Arena in Plzeň on Friday evening, with Souček captaining his country for the 43rd time as he looks to fulfil his dream of leading Czechia to a first World Cup finals in 20 years.
The hosts went ahead on 23 minutes when Hoffenheim’s Adam Hložek converted a pass from hometown hero Lukáš Červ, who plays locally for Viktoria Plzeň.
Montenegro then had an equaliser ruled out for offside following a VAR review before goalscorer Hložek was forced off five minutes after he had found the net.
After Červ had also been replaced at half-time, it was Czechia’s turn to have a goal ruled out after a VAR review for offside on 48 minutes.
However, the home side were not to be denied a second goal and it arrived when Stuttgart’s Václav Černý provided an assist for talismanic striker Patrick Schick of Bayer Leverkusen to score on 65 minutes.
A succession of substitutions followed, including the introduction of former Hammer Alex Král, who is now with Union Berlin, before Coufal was among four players shown yellow cards in added time.
Czechia’s win means they are now three points clear at the top of Group L, three ahead of Montenegro and six ahead of Croatia, who kicked-off their own qualifying campaign with a 7-0 away victory over Gibraltar. The Faroe Islands, the fifth nation in the group, were idle on Friday evening.
A fourth straight win to start qualifying over Croatia away in Osijek on Monday 9 June would put Nároďák firmly on course for next summer’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Souček now has 80 caps, while Coufal has 54.
Elsewhere, Andy Irving is still waiting for his first Scotland cap after remaining on the bench for his country’s 3-1 home friendly defeat by Iceland at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
The midfielder will hope to make his debut for Steve Clarke’s side in another friendly in Liechtenstein on Monday evening.
Finally, on-loan forward Evan Ferguson, who will return to parent club Brighton & Hove Albion on 30 June, was a used substitute as Republic of Ireland drew 1-1 with Senegal in a friendly at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
