International round-up: Wins for Vladimír Coufal and Tomáš Souček [Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal for Czech Republic]
Vladimír Coufal and Tomáš Souček both tasted victory for Czech Republic on a night of mixed fortunes for West Ham United’s international stars. The former Slavia Prague – and now West Ham – clubmates both started the Czechs’ 1-0 Nations League Group B2 win at home to Israel on Sunday evening. Both Hammers fought hard in the red strip of Czech Republic as they sought to break down a stubborn Israel side and make up ground on group leaders Scotland. And it was Coufal who laid on the breakthrough at the end of a rapid counter attack, playing in Vladimir Darida to open the scoring in the seventh minute. A diligent defensive performance followed in the second half, with that proving enough for Czech Republic to take all three points at Doosan Arena. The result means that Coufal and Souček may yet still qualify for next autumn’s 2021 Nations League finals, but they will need to beat Slovakia on 18 November and hope that Scotland fail to win in Israel that same night.
[Declan Rice for England in Belgium]
Declan Rice played the full 90 minutes for England as the Three Lions’ hopes of qualifying for the finals ended with a 2-0 defeat against Belgium in Leuven. Two early goals proved the undoing of Gareth Southgate’s side, with the first arriving courtesy of a deflection – and the second a contentious decision. Despite appearing to win the ball first before being caught on the follow-through by Kevin de Bruyne, Rice was penalised after 23 minutes – before Dries Mertens promptly dispatched a superb free-kick. England had plenty of possession in the remainder of the game but could not find their way back into the game, meaning they will finish third in Group A2; Wednesday’s game at home to Iceland now holds little competitive consequence.
[Darren Randolph for Republic of Ireland]
West Ham’s two senior Irish footballers, meanwhile, both suffered narrow defeats for their respective sides. In goal for the senior team, Darren Randolph was on the wrong end of a second loss to a home nation as the Republic of Ireland went down 1-0 at Wales’ Cardiff City Stadium. Despite Stephen Kenny’s Boys in Green having the better of the opportunities in a hard-fought first half, Wales took the lead midway through the second when David Brooks thundered in to convert Gareth Bale’s looping header from close range. Wales could have stretched their lead through Brooks again were it not for an outstanding save from Randolph mere minutes later, the shot-stopper standing tall as Brooks ran through on the counter, before tipping his effort over the bar in spectacular style. Jeff Hendricks was dismissed in injury time for a professional foul on Bale for the Republic of Ireland, who now sit third, just a point in front of Bulgaria in Nations League Group B4. Their final match of the group is against the bottom side in Dublin on Wednesday, against whom a loss would see them relegated to the third tier of the competition.
[Conor Coventry (No6) lines up for Republic of Ireland U21s] Conor Coventry (No6) lines up for Republic of Ireland U21s
For West Ham U23s captain Conor Coventry, who has been a lynchpin of Republic of Ireland’s team during their 2021 European U21 Championship qualification campaign, there was late heartbreak at home to fellow high-flyers Iceland. Ireland went into the Group A match knowing that three points would have put them in pole position to finish as runners-up – and thus have a great chance of qualifying – but it was Iceland who made the brighter start, taking the lead through Sveinn Gudjohnsen’s 25th-minute finish. Coventry and Ireland pressed for the equaliser but, despite creating some good chances, could not secure it before half-time. They continued to mount pressure upon Iceland, however, and got their just rewards when Lee O’Connor’s cross took a deflection off defender Arif Leisson and trickled into the net with a quarter-of-an-hour remaining. Coventry made way with seven minutes remaining as Ireland brought on their attacking reserves, but a red card for Stoke’s Nathan Collins granted Iceland the encouragement they needed to strike a winner in the third minute of injury-time.Ireland U21s now need to win away at bottom side Luxembourg on Wednesday and hope Iceland fail to win at Armenia – a fixture cancelled due to cases of COVID-19 among the Armenian side.
Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, meanwhile, was an unused substitute as Poland lost 2-0 away at Italy’s Mapei Stadium in Nations League Group A1. The Poles could still qualify for next autumn’s finals, but will require victory at home to the Netherlands on Wednesday night – and for Italy to fail to beat Bosnia & Herzegovina.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Pablo Fornals: We have to keep working and keep dreaming!
[Pablo Fornals]
Every good football team has a Pablo Fornals – a player who will give absolutely everything to the cause, whichever position he or she fills. James Milner does it for Liverpool, Wayne Rooney did it for Manchester United, Javier Zanetti did it for Inter Milan, and both David Alaba and Philipp Lahm have done it for Bayern Munich. West Ham United’s Spain international is following in their illustrious footsteps, featuring across the midfield and on both sides of front three since joining the Hammers from Villarreal in the summer of 2019. Fornals’ versatility and all-round qualities have seen him feature in all but two of the Club’s 46 Premier League matches since his arrival, and the 24-year-old is happy to be helping his team in any way he can.
We have to keep dreaming, to keep fighting and working as we are doing, we can arrive in a good position come the end of the season Pablo Fornals
“One thing I will be able to say when my career finishes is that I’ve played in a lot of positions!” he smiled. “I hope I’ll also be able to say I’ve played a lot of games so, for me, it doesn’t matter where I play because it means I’m on the pitch, so I’m working for that. If I am a winger or a midfielder, I want to play and help the team and fight for us all.”
This season, Fornals has started all eight Premier League games on the left, albeit fulfilling slightly different tactical requirements in each of those matches. During the run of games against teams who finished in the top eight last season, Fornals was the left midfielder in a 5-4-1 formation, but against Fulham last time out, he played further forward in a 3-4-3 formation. From there, he regularly drifted inside to a more central position to allow Arthur Masuaku and Aaron Cresswell to utilise the space down the left flank. Whichever role he is asked to play by manager David Moyes and his coaching staff, Fornals understands the reasoning behind it. “I’m feeling more comfortable because, with Arthur and Cressy playing down the left-hand side, I can go into the middle a little bit,” he explained. “It’s a strange position to explain because sometimes I am defending like a winger, at other times I’m up with the striker and at other times I’m in the midfield – it depends on the flow of the game and how the boss thinks we can hurt the other team more. It depends on a lot of things. “Both before and during the game, the manager changes our positions and sometimes we play 2-1-2 or other times I play wide. It depends how the boss and the coaches watch the game. They are trying to make a new and competitive team and I think they’re doing it.”
[Pablo Fornals celebrates scoring at Liverpool]
West Ham most certainly have been competitive this season, collecting eleven points from a difficult-looking opening eight games, scoring 14 goals and keeping three clean sheets in the process. If you include the final seven matches of last season, the Irons have lost just four of their last 15 Premier League games and have conceded more than two goals only once. “After lockdown, if we hadn’t started to win games, we’d have been in the Championship, so the mentality of all the guys during the lockdown and in the games after the restart was brilliant,” Fornals observed. “Now, we are just continuing with this mentality and trying to be better than last season.”
[Pablo Fornals congratulates Lukasz Fabianski on his penalty save against Fulham]
While the strength of teams in England’s top-flight means qualifying for Europe through league position is a tough ask, Fornals’ experience of having done so with Villarreal in Spain’s La Liga in 2017/18 means he is not afraid to dream to repeating that notable achievement. “I think we made a step up, fighting with unbelievable teams in the last few games and for that reason we are in a comfortable position, but we have enough quality and belief to keep going up the table,” he said, determinedly. “When I played in Villarreal, in my first season there we qualified for the UEFA Europa League and it’s an incredible feeling to play in European competition and try to fight for some trophies, so of course after the last few years we’ve had, we first need to get to 40 points as soon as possible but after this we have to dream. “We have to keep dreaming, to keep fighting and working as we are doing, we can arrive in a good position come the end of the season.”
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Mixed emotions for Hammers debutant Hawa Cissoko
There were both positive and negative feelings for Hawa Cissoko after Sunday’s match with Brighton & Hove Albion, after the defender made her West Ham United debut in the 1-0 defeat. The France international entered the fray with 79 minutes on the clock, replacing Cho So-hyun, to earn her first outing in Claret and Blue for Matt Beard’s side. Cissoko has had a long wait for her maiden West Ham outing, undergoing surgery on a minor injury at the start of the campaign, and the versatile defender was delighted to finally get out and play her first minutes for the Irons, albeit in defeat. “I feel good and bad,” the 23-year-old told West Ham TV. “It’s bad because we lost but it’s good because it’s my first step. I’m so happy because I’m feeling confident. I won all my duels so I’m happy with that.” The defender has formed a good friendship with fellow France international Kenza Dali, and Cissoko has credited the midfielder for helping her settle into life in east London. [Mixed emotions for Hammers debutant Hawa Cissoko]
“I feel good. Honestly, my first couple of weeks after my injury were so hard. Kenza Dali wasn’t here, she was away with the national team, and since she’s come back onto the pitch, she’s helped me feel better, very confident and I’m very happy.” Having had her first taste of football in England, Cissoko is ready to experience more of what the Barclays FA WSL has to offer in the coming weeks. She added: “It’s my first time in England and I want to see how the game goes and see what the levels are. Again, I’m really happy, but I’m sad for losing the game. “I came on for the last 15 minutes, with Brighton already tiring, so I couldn’t completely judge the level. I look forward to testing myself more.”
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Testimonial Thriller! The night the mighty Celtic paid tribute to the great Bobby Moore [Bobby Moore with Celtic captain Billy McNeill]
The illustrious career of West Ham United’s greatest captain Bobby Moore was marked with a memorable Testimonial match on this day exactly 50 years ago. The evening of 16 November 1970 saw the Boleyn Ground lit up by visit of Scottish giants Celtic for a game that no fan who attended will ever forget. On the night, Moore was honoured by nearly 25,000 supporters eager to pay tribute to, at that point, the only player to raise a major trophy in Claret and Blue, and the man who had led England to FIFA World Cup glory just four years before. The defender was also just a few months removed from another outstanding display on the world’s biggest stage, when his immaculate tackling and post-match embrace with Pele were the highlight of England’s narrow defeat by Brazil in Mexico. Moore’s outstanding performances caught the imagination of his fellow professionals and the wider football public, too, with the Hammer being named runner-up for the Ballon d’Or and third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year voting. [Bobby Moore Testimonial ticket stub]
The Testimonial itself broke new ground, with the unique arrangements for the game being handled not by West Ham, but by fuel suppliers Esso. Among the topics handled by Esso was attracting top-class opposition and, in 1970, they did not come much bigger than Celtic. The Glaswegians had become the first British club to win the European Cup in 1967, beating Italians Inter Milan in the final in Lisbon. Three years later, they reached the final again, only to be edged out 2-1 after extra-time by Dutch champions Feyenoord. Seven of the legendary Lisbon Lions were in Jock Stein’s side at the Boleyn Ground, including goalscorer Tommy Gemmell, captain Billy McNeill and the winger Jimmy ‘Jinky’ Johnstone. On the other side, Ron Greenwood blended Hammers heroes like Moore, Geoff Hurst, Frank Lampard and Clyde Best with newer faces in full-back John McDowell, Moore’s new central defensive partner Tommy Taylor and 17-year-old winger Johnny Ayris. Unfortunately, Trevor Brooking and Billy Bonds missed the game through injury, while Martin Peters had moved to Tottenham Hotspur in a swap deal involving Jimmy Greaves in March of that year. Unsurprisingly, the teams produced a titanic tussle that produced six goals and entertaining, attacking football from two talented groups of players. Celtic went ahead three times – through Bobby Lennox, Johnstone and George Connelly – but, led by the irrepressible Moore, West Ham roared back on each occasion. It was from the defender’s cross-field pass that Geoff Hurst scored the Irons’ first equaliser, followed by second-half strikes from Ayris and Best. Johnstone should have won it for the visitors in the final seconds, but his shot flew over the crossbar and West Ham held on to secure a share of the spoils. [Bobby Moore Testimonial Programme]
“Bobby Moore, England’s captain, had the glory of his Testimonial match at Upton Park stolen from him by a memorable display from Celtic, who last night paid their first visit to London for 12 years,” wrote Daily Telegraph reporter Robert Oxby. “Ignore the score line. Celtic, playing with the flair that has made them such a force in world football, out-classed the Londoners. “The match was played in a fearfully competitive spirit – perhaps the most fitting tribute to a man who, by common consent, is regarded as a model professional.” The Testimonial reportedly earned Moore £12,000, but the true value of this memorable moment in the career of West Ham United’s finest-ever player was surely far greater.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: On This Day: Bonds, Brooking and Lampard score in Wolves win
Taking a look back at a classic West Ham United moment on this day in history, in association with RoadX Tyres…
West Ham United thrashed Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-2 on this day in 1974. Playing on a muddy Boleyn Ground pitch, Billy Bonds stepped up and put the Hammers ahead from the penalty spot after Kenny Hibbitt was adjudged to have deliberately handled a Keith Coleman cross. Trevor Brooking made it 2-0 a minute before half-time when he latched onto Bobby Gould’s pass and slide the ball under goalkeeper Phil Parkes. Frank Lampard scored the goal of the night on 62 minutes, thumping home a sensational half-volley from 25 yards after Brooking had scooped a free-kick into his path. John Richards pulled one back before Billy Jennings made it 4-1, shooting home after Parkes had parried Brooking’s rasping shot. Gould added a fifth on 85 minutes, converting with a right-foot finish against his old club after Bonds and Brooking had combined. Steve Kindon got a late consolation for Wolves, but the Irons would not be denied a superb First Division victory. Watch all five West Ham goals again here!
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