Holeš will lead the national team into the match as captain for the first time, but he is used to the role of leader from the club. In Slavia, he is the deputy of captain Jan Bořil and has already had the armband in many matches.
“Of course, it is a great honor for me to be the captain of the national team tomorrow and to lead the team on the pitch. I appreciate it enormously,” said Holeš.
“We have such a tradition that the captain always says a few words before the match in the circle. So I will definitely prepare something. Otherwise, nothing much changes. Tomáš Souček is normally with us and the team, he takes care of all the things (before the match). Maybe those few words in the circle and that I will communicate with the referee, these are two things that change a little for me,” added the Slavist stopper.
He has 33 matches and two goals in the national team. According to the number of starts, he is the fifth most experienced player in the current selection after Souček, defender Vladimír Coufal, midfielder Alex Král and forward Adam Hložek.
“We thought about it primarily so that he would be the leader of the team. Tomáš Holeš came out of it for us at this moment. Even though he may not have played the most matches, he is the leader,” said coach Ivan Hašek.
Souček will be meeting in the national team in a competitive match after three years and for the first time since November 2021, when he did not play in the final of the world qualification against Estonia (2:0). Since then, he was absent in only one preparatory duel, otherwise he started in the starting line-up every time.
