The major West Ham boost David Moyes could receive…

The major West Ham boost David Moyes could receive when Hammers return after World Cup break

West Ham United defender Vladimir Coufal is among a number of the club’s international players who are not in attendance at the 2022 World Cup.

Coufal, alongside West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek, have both been regulars in recent years for Czech Republic’s international side, but the duo missed out on qualifying for the tournament in Qatar, with Czech Republic losing in a play-off semi-final to Sweden in March and missing out on qualification.

However, a number of nations, including Czech Republic, have featured in international friendlies since the Premier League season paused on November 13.

In the first of two friendlies for the Czech Republic last Wednesday, they recorded a 5-0 win over Faroe Islands, taking a 4-0 lead before half-time as Sigma Olomuc striker Mojmir Chytil netted a hat-trick inside 23 minutes.

Coufal and Hammers teammate Soucek both started the game alongside former West Ham loanee Alex Kral and the trio all played the duration of the game.

The right-back, who has recently been linked with interest from Bayer Leverkusen, assisted the opening goal of the game for Chytil, with Soucek setting up his second six minutes later.

Czech Republic’s other friendly came on Saturday, where they were beaten 2-1 by Turkey. Coufal, Soucek and Kral again played the duration of the tie, with Coufal again playing a big hand as he got the assist for Vaclav Cerny’s goal.

Vladimir Coufal of West Ham United warms up prior to the UEFA Europa Conference League Group B match between West Ham United and Silkeborg IF at London Stadium (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Those two assists for Coufal were his first of the campaign, a big boost for him considering his lack of minutes in the Premier League this term, having lost his place in the team to Germany international Thilo Kehrer, with Ben Johnson also preferred at times in the run up to the World Cup.

A big part of Coufal’s game has been his assists during his time at West Ham in the Premier League. In the 2020/21 season, Coufal provided seven assists in 34 appearances, chipping in with four more from 28 games last term.

However, from nine outings this season in the league, Coufal is yet to provide an assist, although he did win a penalty with a cross during last month’s win over Bournemouth.

With goals across the team being low on numbers in the Premier League, assists have also been low on numbers too. Declan Rice and Lucas Paqueta are joint top on league assists for West Ham this season with two each, although 28 players in the league have contributed more.

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