Soucek and his family took out their disappointment with the European Commission: It hurts a bit. England wants to win the championship

Germany finished bottom of the group with just one point at the Euros. “It hurts a bit already. Family always helps you, it’s a relief. If I watched a match for a maximum of 15 minutes since we finished the last one, that’s a lot. I thought to myself now I won’t watch the Euros anymore, it’s disappointing, I want to take a break, my girls (wife and daughter) make me happy,” said Soucek.

“It’s all in the past and now it’s more important to prepare for the new season. I won’t go back to this. As time goes by, I will remember it like Euro 2021. Back then it was close to a medal, now it’s close to our qualification, we struggled at times in the spotlight but we didn’t take the two or three chances we had,” added the national team captain.

Head coach Ivan Hasek’s team lost 1:2 to Portugal in the tournament due to conceding a goal. Then, he drew 1:1 with Georgia after many unconverted chances, and finally lost 1:2 to Turkey, and was in a long-term disadvantage due to the suspension of Ballack.

“When the new executive team arrived, everything went well. We played four preliminaries and won four. Then we entered the tournament and it was good from the beginning. But the bad moments started when we scored against Portugal in the 92nd minute,” Soucek said.

“The match against Georgia went on. We beat them, we should have won, but we didn’t. The win was enough for the team to improve. Then we saw what happened against the Turks. We played ten games from the 20th minute and we could still lead and manage it, unfortunately it didn’t work out,” Soucek said regretfully.

He scored his first goal in a major tournament against Turkey. “Before the Euros, a friend told me that I should score. It would be nice to score. I really enjoyed this goal. It was ten o’clock and at that moment he gave us a chance. Even though it was not decisive in the match. In the end, I will remember him as an amazing, special person,” Soucek pointed out.

He will be leaning towards England rather than Spain in Sunday’s final, also because Albion’s West Ham team-mate, forward Jarrod Bowen, has made two substitute appearances in the tournament so far. “A lot of people criticise England for not playing such good football. That may be true, but they are in the final so nobody can tell them anything. It would be nice to welcome Jarrod as a European champion,” Soucek said. Smiling.

Positive reviews for the Nano Trainer

“The Premier League is considered the best league in the world. But they have missed the world or European title for a long time and they deserve it. But Spain plays great football, probably the best in the tournament. The final could be very tense and good to watch,” Souček meant.

His vacation ends next weekend. “I started training with West Ham United on July 21. I flew directly from the Czech Republic to Florida, where we will train for 14 days. I will meet the rest of the team there at the same time. We will return to London. Fortunately, the start of the season is a little later, until August 17, so I will have enough time to prepare with the team,” said Souček.

Head coach David Moyes left West Ham at the end of the season and will be replaced by former Spain national team manager or Real Madrid boss Julen Lopetegui. “It will be very different. A new coach and the whole executive team have arrived. I am looking forward to it, refreshments and a fresh start are always good. The new coach has a lot to do and I am sure he will bring it to us as well,” said Souček.

Lopetegui wrote to him before the Euros to wish him good luck. “That was the first contact I had with him and now we meet when I come to the camp. I’m sure there will also be a need for a separate interview, how I feel, how he feels. We probably met when he was still at Wolves, but we give each other as much as possible and I’m looking forward to what that will be like, I’ve been asking the players what they’re doing and I’m sure I’ve only had positive feedback. It will be confirmed.”

At West Ham, he hopes to finish in the top half of the Premier League again. “We’ve enjoyed three European Championships. I’m sure we’ll try to play for them again, it’s something special. From a personal point of view, I just hope it continues. In the four and a half years I’ve been there, I’ve slowly played every game and I hope I can get into it again and it will continue like I did last year,” added the former Slavia Prague player.