Six West Ham United players have been in action for their home countries on international break this week, so take a look and see how the Hammers have done abroad…
Declan Rice – England
West Ham’s midfield maestro Declan Rice was once again within the heart of the action for the Hammers during this international break.
An excellent substitute appearance during England’s 2-1 win over Switzerland only furthered his cause in becoming one of the first names of the team sheet under Gareth Southgate.
Another 90 minutes in their 3-0 win over Ivory Coast just reassured fans that he is one of England’s key players, and that he should definitely be on the plane to Qatar this winter.
Tomas Soucek – Czech Republic
West Ham fan favourite Tomas Soucek endured a disappointing World Cup qualifying playoff loss for Czech Republic against Sweden last week, ending their hopes to qualify for the tournament in Qatar next year despite a good performance from the Hammer.
However, the Czech captain bagged a goal in their friendly 1-1 draw with Wales on Tuesday night, leaving the international with something to come home with.
Vladimir Coufal and Alex Kral did not feature during this international break.
Arthur Masuaku – DR Congo
Hammers left-back has endured a difficult time with his national side DR Congo this week, after missing out on qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Despite losing 4-1 to Morocco on Tuesday via a playoff fixture, the 28-year-old put in a good performance for his side and created many chances for his teammates.
Nikola Vlasic – Croatia
A 20-minute substitute appearance in a 1-1 draw against Slovenia and a start in their 2-1 over Bulgaria, will have given West Ham midfield maestro Nikola Vlasic a large amount of confidence to come back with during this break with Croatia.
Vlasic is usually one of the first names on the team sheet for his national team, and hopefully it will encourage the 24-year-old to show his potential at West Ham even more.
Said Benrahma – Algeria
Said Benrahma was an unused substitute for the Algerian national team during their 2-1 loss to Cameroon on Tuesday night. It was a late call-up for the 26-year-old, and it unfortunately ended in heartbreak for Algeria.
This loss meant that they now don’t qualify for the 2022 World Cup, after losing the fixture on aggregate.
Manuel Lanzini – Argentina
After receiving his first international call-up for Argentina in January, since his unfortunate ACL injury in 2018, West Ham playmaker Manuel Lanzini is back in the fold for his national team.
Despite being an unused substitute in both their games for this break, his country has qualified for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Alphonse Areola – France
West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola was an unused substitute in both of France’s friendly fixtures this week.
A 2-1 win over Ivory Coast and a 5-0 victory against South Africa puts the current world champions in good spirit, having gone unbeaten in their past nine games.
