West Ham United midfielder Tomas Soucek starred for Czech Republic as they overcame Albania 2-0 in their Nations League group on Friday night.
The hosts dominated proceedings from the beginning as they struck the opener with just three minutes on the clock.
Tomas Chory latched onto a pass from Vaclav Cerny before beating the goalkeeper with a superb right-foot finish.
Ivan Hašek’s men continued their ascendency in the game and Chory doubled their lead in the 63rd minute, heading home Vladimir Coufal’s brilliant cross.
The victory means the Czechs are now level on points with Georgia at the top of their Nations League Group B1.
The national press were effusive in their praise of the players, particularly Tomas Soucek.
Sport.cz called the 29-year-old an ‘honest’ and ‘selfless’ footballer and hailed his important role in the Czech Republic’s victory.
“Honest, selfless as usual. At first he was not visible in the offensive, but before the break he created a chance for Chore. Important in defensive standards”.
The experienced midfielder had 62 touches in the game and completed 40 of his 51 passes.
He also won all his aerial duels and created a big chance as well as three key passes.
Soucek has been a key member of Julen Lopetegui’s first team this season. He has started five Premier League matches so far, with two goals to his name.
The 29-year-old came under a lot of criticism after an awful display against Fulham last month. However, he made a brilliant comeback and has performed impressively in the Hammers’ previous three league matches.
Stats from Sofascore
