- West Ham United have five players who will head out to the 2026 World Cup in North America
- Konstantinos Mavropanos won’t be one of them but was in action on Thursday
- Tomás Soucek and Edson Álvarez were both involved in their respective nations’ preparations for the Finals
West Ham United’s drop into the Championship has not stopped their players from receiving international recognition this summer.
Only recently Crysencio Summerville made his international debut for the Netherlands, one of five Hammers going to the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Of course, the international window offers West Ham a chance to have their assets viewed in a different light away from the turbulence of relegation, which is crucial if the clubs are to make sales that allow them to recoup the needed £150 million to offset their precarious financial position.
Here is the latest West Ham international roundup.
Konstantinos Mavropanos
The Greek defender was in action for his nation on Thursday evening for their 2-2 friendly draw with Sweden. Konstantinos Mavropanos was the only Greek player to play 90 minutes, and though his side didn’t keep a clean sheet, Ethniki did keep the renowned partnership of Viktor Gyökeres and Alexander Isak to just one goal – a free-kick from the former – and two shots.
Mavropanos’ Greece are next in action at home in Crete against a youthful Italy on Sunday 8pm BST, who also didn’t qualify for this summer’s World Cup.
Tomás Soucek
Tomás Soucek and his Czechia company will be going to North America; in fact, Miroslav Koubek’s side are already out in the States, where they played Guatemala in the early Friday morning for those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
In the midfield pivot, Soucek – making his 90th cap for the national team – was part of a strong Czech Republic that also included former West Ham player Vladimír Coufal and Bundesliga sharpshooter Patrik Schick as they swept past Guatemala in a 3-1 victory.
Attention for Soucek and his countrymen will now turn to the World Cup for their opening game against South Korea on June 12th. The West Ham midfielder has kept tight-lipped on his club future in Czechia’s World Cup build-up: “I’ll deal with that later, but right now the main thing for me is the national team.”
Edson Álvarez
Edson Álvarez may not have been at West Ham this season, on loan at Fenerbahçe, but every expectation is that the Mexican midfielder will come back to Rush Green after his nation’s host efforts for the Finals.
Álvarez’s season-long stay at Fenerbahçe dwindled out disappointingly, with many club supporters underwhelmed by his performances, claiming he prioritised playing for his nation in the summer ahead of the Turkish club when he was injured during the spring.
Álvarez, who missed more than two months with an ankle injury, has been gradually ushered into the Mexico starting XI – coming off the bench for their 5-1 win over Serbia, playing no more than an hour, as he did for their two prior friendlies.
Against Serbia, Álvarez came off the bench at half-time, wore the armband, and earned a yellow card. The talk in Mexico predicts the 28-year-old won’t be fit to start for the tournament opener in Mexico City Stadium against South Africa on June 11.
