With his goal to make it 3-1, Kryštof Daněk paved the way for LASK's first victory in the Champions League league phase during their away match in Lisbon.
The 23-year-old Czech has also put in convincing performances recently in the ADMIRAL Bundesliga and the ÖFB Cup.
As a reward, the attacking midfielder was called up to the Czech Republic national team after a one-year absence. In Nations League A, they will first face world and European champions Spain (12 Nov), followed by an away match in Croatia (15 Nov).
The LASK pro is already looking forward to the upcoming challenges: "I'm really looking forward to it. I also watched the last match and liked our team's performance. They were great games, all three opponents in the group are very strong. It's every footballer's dream to test themselves against them."
Daněk: "It was the greatest football experience of my life"
Czechia still sit on zero points in Nations League A Group 3. A top performance will be required to change that, as Daněk is well aware: "Spain are world champions, the toughest opponent you can imagine. To put it clearly: you have nothing to lose against them. It will be an extremely difficult game, but we want to prepare as best as possible to be successful."
The 23-year-old Czech is certainly not lacking confidence at the moment, having come off a successful yet turbulent few weeks with LASK.
The away win in Lisbon in particular remains a fond memory: "That was definitely the greatest football experience of my life. Something surreal, something you can normally only dream of. The whole team delivered an outstanding performance there. Sporting are a big club, and we managed to beat them."
Following the win against Slovan Bratislava, there is now even "the prospect of reaching the Champions League knockout stage," according to the Czech international.
Feel-good factor as the secret to success?
He describes the appeal of Europe's elite competition as follows: "Every minute on the pitch in the Champions League is great. It's the pinnacle of football. I enjoy every single moment and hold the competition in high regard. Plus, we've already gathered a few points. The guys in the dressing room looked it up and found that a year ago you could advance with nine points and a slightly negative goal difference. We definitely have the ambition to progress."
Looking back at the season as a whole so far, the 23-year-old attacker — who was permanently signed from Sparta Prague in the summer of 2026 for a reported €1.2 million — also draws a positive interim conclusion:
"Things are going well for us. We're in third place in the league table and have also performed decently in several Champions League matches. There's satisfaction at the club, and I feel very comfortable as well. I hope I can bring that momentum here."
Daněk is still waiting for his first goal for the senior Czech national team. Overall, he has only played just over 45 minutes for his country.
