The Premier League season may be over, but that hasn’t stopped plenty of West Ham stars from featuring at this summer’s European Championships.
With the competition already underway, and the group stages almost complete, the Hammers are likely to see their stars progress to the knockout stages of the tournament.
Declan Rice, Tomáš Souček, Vladimír Coufal, Andriy Yarmolenko, and Łukasz Fabiański are all currently featuring for their respective countries – with the first three set to feature against each other tonight with England vs Czech Republic.
In a recent video with Betway Coufal, Fabiański, and Italian defender Angelo Obgonna all opened up on the realities of playing at the Euros, with Ogbonna featuring for the Italians in Euro 2012 and 2016, making just one appearance for the Azzurri.
The trio all seemed to have similar feelings about the pride of being able to play for your country – with Fabiański particularly proud of that moment when you hear your national anthem, which gives you the realisation that the occasion means so much more than just a game of football.
Czech right-back Coufal was especially optimistic, stating that he has hopes that himself and his teammates can eclipse that of the famous 1996 team that progressed to the final, losing out narrowly to Germany with a golden goal.
Luckily for Coufal and Souček, the golden goal rule no longer exists – so that will be the least of their worries if they happen to face the Germans again at some point during the competition!
Ogbonna was unlucky not to make Roberto Mancini’s squad this summer given his fine form for the Hammers alongside Craig Dawson in defence, but that didn’t stop him opening up on that special feeling of playing at such a tournament.
The 33-year-old revealed that as a youngster, he wasn’t thinking about money, or cars, or anything materialistic, instead, he dreamt about becoming a top player for club and country.
His time for Italy at the Euros was no doubt one of the finest moments of his career, and despite featuring only once, there was no doubt an overriding feeling of pride to represent Italy.
Hopefully, we will see the five Hammers succeed in this year’s competition, with all of their respective countries still left with a fighting chance to make it through to the Round of 16.
