Sunday night saw yet more West Ham representation around the world as international football continued during the domestic break.
Firstly, former Slavia Prague duo Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal were on the winning side as Czech Republic defeated Israel 1-0 in the Nations League Group B2. Both men played 90 minutes and Coufal set up the winning goal for Vladimir Darida in just the seventh minute (TransferMarkt).
Current on-field Irons captain Declan Rice also played the full 90 minutes for England as Gareth Southgate’s side went down 2-0 at the hands of Belgium in Leuven. The 21-year-old is likely to be involved once again on Wednesday night when England take on Iceland at Wembley.
First-choice West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was an unused substitute as Poland lost 2-0 away at Italy’s Mapei Stadium in Nations League Group A1.
Backup ‘keeper Darren Randolph was in impressive form despite being unable to avoid defeat with the Republic of Ireland, who lost 1-0 to Wales following a David Brooks goal.
Meanwhile, Andriy Yarmolenko was one of five Ukrainian players called up to the squad to return a positive Covid-19 test, meaning the winger will miss the international matches and West Ham’s next fixture against Sheffield United at a minimum.
Striker Sebastien Haller will face Madagascar tomorrow after a successful Ivory Coast debut last week and centre-back Fabian Balbuena will represent Paraguay against Bolivia.
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Plenty of minutes during the break for Hammers stars with, touch wood, only Yarmolenko so far feeling the effects of the much-maligned international break.
Given the issue around the Premier League with player injuries, Irons fans will be hoping their travelling players return to London Stadium with a clean bill of health from the midweek fixtures.
