It was blood, sweat and cheers for Tomas Soucek on Friday as he put his body on the line to help the Czech Republic earn a crucial 1-1 draw with Poland in Euro 2024 qualifying.
West Ham star Soucek scored the all-important equaliser in Warsaw before suffering a nasty head cut from the boot of Southampton defender Jan Bednarek. Attempting to clear a bouncing ball after the West Ham midfielder had tumbled to the ground, Bednarek accidentally raked his studs across Soucek's forehead, with blood soon pouring down his face.
Fortunately for the Czech captain, he was bandaged up and able to continue - barring a few stoppages as the blood did its best to keep oozing out. When Soucek and his team-mates flew home on Saturday, his national team's Instagram page shared a photo of the 28-year-old with two grizzly cuts on his forehead, adding "bojovnik" as the caption, which in English translates to 'fighter'.
Soucek had made it 1-1 in the 49th minute to keep the Czechs second in Group E and on course to qualify for another major tournament next summer. His close-range effort, courtesy of some shoddy Poland defending, means that Jaroslav Silhavy's side now only need a draw in their final qualifying match at home to Moldova on Monday to book their ticket to Germany.
At half-time on Friday, though, it looked as if they'd need a win. Poland took the lead through Jakub Piotrowski after the Czech Republic failed to deal with a cross from Roma youngster Nicola Zalewski with 38 minutes on the clock. The ball fell kindly to in-form Ludogorets midfielder Piotrowski, who bundled it into the back of the net.
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The out-of-form hosts were undone shortly after the break, however, as fellow West Ham star Vladimir Coufal sparked chaos in the Polish penalty area with a looping cross. The ball eventually found an unmarked Soucek, who coolly slotted past former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and wheeled away in celebration.
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Tomas Soucek was in the wars on Friday (Instagram/ceskarepre)
His goal earned a vital point for the Czech Republic (Mateusz Slodkowski/Getty Images)Just five minutes after the midfield powerhouse had levelled the scores, struggling Poland skipper Robert Lewandowski squandered the chance to restore his side's lead with a misplaced lob over Czech goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek. The visitors enjoyed the better chances from then on but were happy to settle for a draw.
The result ends Poland's chances of qualifying through Group E and they'll now enter the play-offs in March thanks to their Nations League results from 2022. For the Czech Republic, they're on the verge of qualifying for yet another European Championship, having never failed to do so since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993.
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