Eight players from West Ham United’s women’s team were on duty for their respective countries on Tuesday evening, as the October international break concluded.
Five of those were involved in UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying play-off second-leg ties, with the first legs having already taken place on Friday 25 October.
Oona Siren helped Finland qualify for the second round of play-off round matches as they eased past Montenegro in a 5-0 trouncing at Tammelan Stadion. Ria Öling, Nea Lehtola, Vilma Koivisto, Linda Sällström and Lilli Halttunen were all on the scoresheet in the convincing home win.
Finland will face Scotland in the second round, with Kirsty Smith playing the full 90 minutes in their victory over Hungary at Easter Road Stadium. An own goal from goalkeeper Lauren Bzrykcy and a deflected drive from Erin Cuthbert sent Scotland on their way, before Caroline Weir and former Hammers forward Martha Thomas completed the rout, securing a 5-0 aggregate win.
Poland have also booked their place in the next stage of play-off matches, with Kinga Szemik between the posts as they dispatched Romania 4-1 in Gdańsk. Ewa Pajor scored a double, whilst Natalia Padilla and Nadia Krezyman both weighed in with goals before Ana Maria Stanciu added a consultation late on. The win means that Poland will face Austria in the November international break for a place at Euro 2025.
Amber Tysiak featured for Belgium in their 5-0 demolition of Greece at King Power at Den Dreef Stadion. The 24-year-old earned her 25th cap for her country in the previous fixture on Friday and was this time on the winning side in the second leg as doubles from Ella Van Kerkhoven and Tessa Wullaert as well as a Kassandra Missipo strike rewarded the Red Flames with a tie against Ukraine to look forward to.
The Republic of Ireland also advanced into the second round, with Jessie Stapleton supplying a delightful assist for Kyra Carusa in their 3-0 win against Georgia at Tallaght Stadium. Stapleton played 90 minutes for the Girls in Green, and laid on the second goal after Julie-Ann Russell had opened the scoring three minutes into the game. Katie McCabe added a third goal in the second half to give the Republic of Ireland a 9-0 aggregate win, setting up a tie with Wales in November.
Halle Houssein was an unused substitute as Turkey lost 2-0 to Ukraine in their play-off match that took place in Moldova.
Away from competitive action, Li Mengwen made it two wins from two in the international break as she helped China to a 2-0 victory over Vietnam at Yongchuan Sports Center. Zhang Xin opened the scoring, before an own goal in second-half stoppage time confirmed the win for the Steel Roses.
Anouk Denton came off the bench to help England U23s secure a narrow 1-0 victory over Portugal U23s in dramatic style at Croud Meadow Stadium in Shrewsbury. The attacking full-back came off the bench in the second half and saw Michelle Agyemang fire in a free-kick four minutes from time.
Manuela Paví came off the bench at half-time for Colombia in their 3-1 defeat to Brazil in Cariacica. After a first half that saw Isadora Gehlen and Gio Queiroz score for the hosts, Pavi entered the fray, and whilst Linda Caicedo did manage to pull a goal back, Brazil would add a third from the penalty spot late on thanks to Adriana to inflict defeat on their South American neighbours.
