The wait is finally over.
Six West Ham United Women's players are about to represent their respective nations on football's biggest stage. The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, which is taking place in New Zealand kicks off on Thursday 20 July.
The competition will see 32 teams from six different confederations battle it out across the nine host cities. It will be the first FIFA Women's World Cup to have more than one host nation and the excitement for those Hammers who will be playing their part is building.
Here's everything you need to know about our players, when they will be playing and how you can watch them in action!
Mackenzie Arnold
A vastly experienced goalkeeper, Mackenzie Arnold has established herself as No.1 for Australia after a string of superb performances in Claret & Blue over the past six months.
The 29-year-old featured 27 times in all competitions during the 2022/23 campaign and has fought off strong competition from Brighton's Lydia Williams and FC Rosengård’s Teagan Micah for the spot between the posts heading into this tournament.
The joint-hosts have had a solid 2023 and preparations have gone well heading into the tournament. Under the guidance of Head Coach Tony Tony Gustavsson, they ended England's 30-match unbeaten run back in April, whilst also beating France earlier this month in their final warm-up match - with Arnold starting both games.
The Matildas have been drawn into Group B and open their World Cup campaign against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday 20 July at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
They then face Nigeria at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Thursday 27 July before finishing off the group stages against Canada in Melbourne on Monday 31 July.
Viviane Asseyi
Another player that has been key for the Hammers throughout the previous campaign has been Viviane Asseyi.
The forward arrived in east London from German side Bayern Munich in August and took no time at all to adapt to plying her trade in the Barclays Women's Super League. Asseyi played in every single WSL fixture for the Hammers during the 2022/23 campaign, weighing in with six goals and three assists.
For her country, the 29-year-old has been a regular throughout World Cup qualifying, helping France top their qualifying group and scoring goals against Greece and Kazakhstan.
This will be Asseyi's second World Cup, having featured for Les Bleues at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, which was held in France.
France are in Group F for the upcoming World Cup, and will face Jamaica in their opening fixture on Sunday 23 July at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
A tough match at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane against Brazil will follow on Saturday 29 July, with the winner of that fixture likely to top the group. Finally, they will return to Sydney to end their group stage action against Panama on Sunday 2 August.
Izzy Atkinson
An exciting young winger, Izzy Atkinson will be living every young girls dream when the Republic of Ireland kick-off their first ever World Cup campaign.
Born in Rush, a seaside commuter town 40 minutes outside of Dublin, Atkinson has worked her way through the ranks at Shelbourne, with a quick stop off in Celtic to sign on the dotted line in east London last summer.
In her debut season in Claret & Blue, Atkinson notched 20 appearances in all competitions and scored a vital goal in a narrow 1-0 win over Leicester City back in October. She has five caps for her country and will be hoping to add to those over the next couple of weeks in Australia.
Atkinson wasn't initially called up by Republic of Ireland Head Coach Vera Pauw when she named her 31-player squad last month, but an injury to Liverpool's Megan Campbell opened the door for the 21-year-old. Having impressed in the first half of their 3-2 win over Zambia in a warm-up fixture, Pauw elected to select Atkinson in her 23-player squad for the tournament.
Atkinson and her teammates have been drawn in Group B, and will make their debut at a World Cup against hosts Australia on Thursday 20 July at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
A tough tie against Canada in Perth follows on Wednesday 26 July, before ending the group stage against Nigeria at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Monday 31 July.
Honoka Hayashi
A key cog in the West Ham United engine room, Honoka Hayashi is also about to embark on her first World Cup.
The 25-year-old has 21 caps for Japan heading into the tournament and has represented Japan on the big stage before, namely at the 2020 Olympics and 2022 Asian Cup.
Hayashi has been with the Hammers since September 2022, joining from Swedish side AIK. She quickly established herself in the WSL and ended the campaign having made 26 appearances in Claret & Blue across all competitions.
Usually operating as an advanced midfielder under Head Coach Futoshi Ikeda, Hayashi will play alongside her Club teammate Risa Shimizu, as well as former Hammer Yui Hasegawa whilst at the tournament.
Japan have been drawn in Group C and will play all of their group stage fixtures in New Zealand. First, they will face off against Zambia at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton in their opening fixture of the tournament on Saturday 22 July.
They will then face Costa Rica at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Wednesday 26 July, before rounding off the group stage action with a tough clash with Spain at Wellington Regional Stadium on Monday 31 July.
Risa Shimizu
An industrious and assiduous defender, Risa Shimizu, like her compatriot Hayashi, enjoyed a solid start to life in east London having signed for the Hammers in August 2022.
Across her maiden season in Europe, the 27-year-old featured in 28 of the 29 competitive matches for the Irons and helped to keep nine clean sheets in total.
For Nadeshiko, Shimizu is no stranger to the biggest stage, helping them to victories at the EAFF Women's Football Championship in 2019 and 2022, as well as the AFC Women's Asian Cup and the Asian Games in 2018.
She heads to her second World Cup having accumulated 63 caps since making her debut in 2017.
As mentioned above, Japan will face Zambia, Costa Rica and Spain in Group C, with all of their group stage fixtures taking place in New Zealand.
Emma Snerle
Another player who will be making her first appearance at a World Cup will be creative midfielder Emma Snerle.
The 21-year-old has amassed 27 caps for Denmark since making her first appearance for her country in 2019.
Snerle joined West Ham United in January 2022 - making the move from Fortuna Hjørring in her native Denmark. Two long-term injuries in 2022 has limited the No.8 to 28 appearances in Claret & Blue, but her growing influence began to shine towards the end of the 2022/23 season as she found the net against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Denmark have been placed in Group D and will face China in Perth on Saturday 22 July in their opening match on the tournament.
They will then take on England on Friday 28 July at Allianz Stadium in Sydney before rounding off the group stage with a clash against Haiti in Perth on Tuesday 1 August.
When do the knockout stages begin?
The final group stage matches draw to a close on Thursday 3 August, with the round of 16 beginning on Saturday 5 August.
The four quarter final matches will be played on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 August, whilst the two semi finals fixtures will take place on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 August.
The third-placed playoff will kick off on Saturday 19 August, with the final itself taking place at Stadium Australia on Sunday 20 August at 11am UK time.
All matches will be available to watch in the UK across the BBC and ITV.
Everyone at West Ham United would like to wish all of our players the very best of luck for the tournament.
