West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski has opened up on what representing his country means to him and the special feeling he gets prior to a Poland match.
Lukas Fabianski said: “It’s always very special to represent your country. Before the first kick-off, you always listen to your national anthem, which is always special. You get this feeling that the game means maybe a little bit more.”
Angelo Ogbonna said: “When you’re young you are not thinking about money, cars or whatever. You’re thinking about being a top player. You’re thinking about winning a trophy.”
The Czech Republic got their European Championships off to a perfect start on Monday, beating Scotland 2-0 thanks to a spectacular brace from Patrick Schick. Coufal was part of the Czech backline to nullify the Scots and provided a trademark assist with an inch-perfect cross from the right-hand side.The West Ham defender is aiming to replicate the Czech team of the 1990s and 2000s.
Vladimir Coufal said: “In the summer Euros we can be successful like our team from ’96.”
Speaking ahead of the tournament, Coufal expanded on the challenges his country faced: “It’s a very difficult group. We’ve got two games away against England and Scotland. Croatia are strong as well.
Vladimir Coufal said: “We respect the successes of the past, particularly the team of 1996, but football has progressed so much since then. We want to achieve similar success but it’s a long, hard journey. Football has progressed since 2004, not much — but it has still changed.”
Coufal admitted to having discussed the final Group D encounter where he will come head to head with Hammers teammate Declan Rice.
Vladimir Coufal said: “Me and Declan talked about these matches we are going to play. But I have to say that England as a team are very strong. They are incredible. They are one of the favourites for the win. In our match against them, we need to do our best and surprise people at Wembley.”
