‘Big star’ – Czech Republic captain wary of Bruno Fernandes’ threat

West Ham and Czech Republic midfielder Tomas Soucek described Bruno Fernandes as one of Portugal’s best players ahead of Tuesday night’s Euro 2024 clash.

Fernandes was one of Portugal’s most prolific players throughout the qualifying campaign. His objective will be to continue that form for his country in Germany this summer.

Captain of the Czech Republic national team, Soucek will be going to battle with Fernandes in the centre of the pitch tonight.

Soucek knows he will be facing some of the best players in the world, including Fernandes, but his task will be to keep the United star quiet.

“They have repeatedly shown high quality over the past few years,” Soucek told iSport. “And Cristiano Ronaldo? The biggest Portuguese star of the last twenty years. For this, he scored the most goals of all players in the world.

“Another big star is Bruno Fernandes.”

However, Soucek was keen to add that Portugal have a lot more going for them than just two star players.

The West Ham star added: “Portugal is no longer just about the two of them (Ronaldo and Fernandes),” adds Soucek. “They also have (Bernardo) Silva, Leao… Just huge quality up front and at the back. We cannot underestimate such a team.

“One the other hand, we are also aware of our strengths. We will focus not only on the opponent, but also on ourselves.”

Portugal take on the Czech Republic tonight at 8pm.

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