The FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup takes place today in Australia & New Zealand, with six West Ham players ready to represent their country this summer.
Mackenzie Arnold, Risa Shimizu, Honoka Hayashi, Vivienne Asseyi, Izzy Atkinson and Emma Snerle made the long haul flight to Australia ahead of the Women’s World Cup.
32 teams from around the world will be battling it out for the World Cup title across nine cities and two host countries, making it the first FIFA Women’s World Cup to have more than one host.
Here is some information on our players, their match schedule and where you can watch them.
Mackenzie Arnold has established herself as Australia’s No.1 goalkeeper following some incredible performances in the WSL for West Ham. With competition from Brightons Lydia Williams and FC Rosengård’s Teagan Micah, she secured a place in her third World Cup, following her features in the 2015 and the 2019 tournaments in Canada and France.
The joint-hosts are a team to watch out for as they managed to break Englands 30-match unbeaten run back in a friendly in April, and also beat France in their final warm-up game ahead of the tournament.
Australia have been drawn into Group B, with their first match against Republic of Ireland at Stadium Australia in Sydney on the 20th of July. They then face Nigeria on Thursday 27th July at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, before finishing the group stages with Canada on the 31st July in Melbourne, with all of Australia’s matches at 11am.
Another key player for West Ham, Vivienne Asseyi, will be heading down under with France. The 29-year-old has been a regular for country and club and was able to settle in well in the WSL after her move from Bayern Munich last August. She also helped her team come top of the qualifying group with goals against Greece and Kazakhstan.
Asseyi also featured in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, making this her second World Cup.
France will be in Group F for the World Cup with their opening fixture on Sunday 23rd of July in the Allianz Stadium in Sydney. This is followed by their match against Brazil on Saturday 29th of July with the winner likely determining the top team in their group. Lastly, the final group stage game against Panama will be on Sunday 2nd of August.
22-year-old Izzy Atkinson will be living out her childhood dream with Ireland’s first every World Cup campaign. From working her way up the ranks to making her debut in the WSL with West Ham, Atkinson has shown a lot of potential. She wasn’t initially called up to the squad when the 31-player squad was originally named, however Liverpool’s Megan Campbell sustained an injury meaning that Vera Pauw made the decision to bring in Atkinson to replace her.
Atkinson and her team will also join Group B alongside fellow hammer, Mackenzie Arnold and Australia, with Ireland’s debut game against the hosts on the 20th of July. They then face Canada on the 26th of July in Perth, before rounding up their group stage with a game against Nigeria at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on 31st of July.
Honoka Hayashi will also be taking part in her first ever World Cup this summer. With 21 caps for Japan, and 26 appearances in Claret and Blue across all competitions last season, she is a key player for both teams. Hayashi will also play alongside fellow teammate Risa Shimizu and former hammer Yui Hasegawa.
Japan will be part of Group C and their group stage fixtures will be played in New Zealand. Opening their tournament they will play Zambia at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on the 22nd of July. Followed by Costa Rica at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Wednesday 26 July, and to end their group stage action they will face Spain at Wellington Regional Stadium on the 31st of July.
Defender Risa Shimizu will join team mate Hayashi in representing Japan following a solid start with West Ham when she joined last August. The 27-year-old featured in 28 out of 29 competitive matches for the East London club and helped to keep nine clean sheets, as she hopes to do the same for her country at the World Cup.
This is also Shimizu’s second World Cup, and she has also played a big part in victories for Japan in the EAFF Women’s Football Championship in 2019 and 2022, and also the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and the Asian Games in 2018.
As stated above Japan will be in Group C, facing Zambia, Costa Rica and Spain.
Danish hammer Emma Snerle will also take part in her first World Cup, as she has accumulated 27 caps for Denmark since her debut in 2019. The 21-year-old joined in January 2022, and despite two long term injuries, she has been a key part of the West Ham squad specifically in the run up to the end of last season, with two great goals against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Denmark are in Group D with their first fixture on the 22nd of July in Perth against China, followed by a tough game against England on the 28th of July at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney. Finally, they round of the group stages with a game against Haiti in Perth on the 1st of August.
The group stages will commence on Thursday 3rd of August, and the Round of 16 will then start on Saturday 5th of August. Four quarter final matches will then take place on the 11th and 12th of August and the two semi final games will be played on the 15th and 16th of August. The final will be played in Stadium Australia on Sunday 20th of August at 11am BST.
You can follow along with all of the matches live in the UK across BBC and ITV.
Written by Katie Vine.
