Tomas Soucek wants Czech Republic to learn from loss and step up against Wales
Tomas Soucek has urged the Czech Republic to learn from their World Cup qualifying defeat to Wales in March.
Daniel James’ late header gave Wales a 1-0 win over the Czechs in Cardiff and a boost in the battle for second spot behind runaway group leaders Belgium.
But Wales lost much of that advantage when held to a goalless home draw by Estonia last month, and the Czechs would take a huge step towards booking a play-off spot with a Prague victory on Friday night.
Asked whether it was a revenge mission, Czech Republic captain Soucek said: “We are not thinking this way.
“The Wales game was not our best match, but we lost as a team and we want to win as a team in front of our own fans.
“It’s going to be very difficult and we need to learn from our mistakes in the last game.
“We had some chances and we didn’t make use of them, and we really need to step up our game for this match.
“We have already seen a lot of videos of them, especially their defensive and attacking play.
“Looking at the details from our match in Wales we know to expect a typical British style of play.”
Soucek’s West Ham team-mate Vladimir Coufal is among four Czech Republic absentees that also include fellow full-back Jan Boril and midfielders Lukas Masopust and Petr Sevcik.
Midfielder Tomas Holes sat out training on Thursday and could also miss out.
“It’s a bit of a complication for us but I believe we have a lot of quality players and we can replace them,” Soucek said.
“It’s important for us to reach second place and beating Wales would be a confidence boost to help us feel like we felt in the Euros. We also want to show the fans our ambition.
“We enjoyed our time at the Euros and the success we had there.
“The World Cup is an even bigger event and it’s happening next year, and everyone wants to go there and play in this type of tournament.
“We believe we have a good team and we want to show our experience like we did at the Euros.”
Patrik Schick, who was joint top-scorer at this summer’s Euro 2020 where the Czechs reached the quarter-finals, was sent off against Wales six months ago and Soucek believes the Bayer Leverkusen forward will have a point to prove at the Sinobo Stadium.
“He is doing well in Germany and I hope he will impress here too,” Soucek said.
“He’s a very important striker for us and I believe he will show his strengths on the pitch.”
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Czech Republic vs Wales
Tomas Soucek has urged the Czech Republic to learn from their World Cup qualifying defeat to Wales in March.
Daniel James’ late header gave Wales a 1-0 win over the Czechs in Cardiff and a boost in the battle for second spot behind runaway group leaders Belgium.
But Wales lost much of that advantage when held to a goalless home draw by Estonia last month, and the Czechs would take a huge step towards booking a play-off spot with a Prague victory on Friday night.
Asked whether it was a revenge mission, Czech Republic captain Soucek said: “We are not thinking this way.
“The Wales game was not our best match, but we lost as a team and we want to win as a team in front of our own fans.
“It’s going to be very difficult and we need to learn from our mistakes in the last game.
“We had some chances and we didn’t make use of them, and we really need to step up our game for this match.
“We have already seen a lot of videos of them, especially their defensive and attacking play.
“Looking at the details from our match in Wales we know to expect a typical British style of play.”
Soucek’s West Ham team-mate Vladimir Coufal is among four Czech Republic absentees that also include fellow full-back Jan Boril and midfielders Lukas Masopust and Petr Sevcik.
Midfielder Tomas Holes sat out training on Thursday and could also miss out.
“It’s a bit of a complication for us but I believe we have a lot of quality players and we can replace them,” Soucek said.
“It’s important for us to reach second place and beating Wales would be a confidence boost to help us feel like we felt in the Euros. We also want to show the fans our ambition.
“We enjoyed our time at the Euros and the success we had there.
“The World Cup is an even bigger event and it’s happening next year, and everyone wants to go there and play in this type of tournament.
“We believe we have a good team and we want to show our experience like we did at the Euros.”
Patrik Schick, who was joint top-scorer at this summer’s Euro 2020 where the Czechs reached the quarter-finals, was sent off against Wales six months ago and Soucek believes the Bayer Leverkusen forward will have a point to prove at the Sinobo Stadium.
“He is doing well in Germany and I hope he will impress here too,” Soucek said.
“He’s a very important striker for us and I believe he will show his strengths on the pitch.”
Head to Head Comparison
Czech Republic - Last 5 Matches
Wales - Last 5 Matches