West Ham United Women will have six players at this summer’s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup! The tournament, which is being held across Australia and New Zealand is now just three days away from beginning.
Ahead of the action getting underway, we will spotlight every Hammer who will be in action throughout the competition. Next up is Honoka Hayashi...
Hayashi has 21 caps for Japan and will be heading to her first ever World Cup this summer. The industrious and creative midfielder was first called up to the national team setup in 2019, and since then has been involved in the 2020 Olympics and the 2022 Asian Cup - meaning she is not short of tournament experience heading into this summer's competition!
During this calendar year, Hayashi has featured three times under Nadeshiko Head Coach Futoshi Ikeda - playing in the SheBelieves Cup against both Canada and Brazil, whilst also coming off the bench in Japan's 5-0 win over Panama in their warm-up friendly on 14 July.
Hayashi joined West Ham United in September 2022 from Swedish AIK, where the midfielder had spent the previous season after leaving Cerezo Osaka in her native Japan.
The 25-year-old quickly established herself in the Hammers side as they made a strong start to the 2022/23 Barclays Women's Super League campaign. The midfielder made a total of 26 appearances across all competitions in her debut season in Claret & Blue.
Hayashi netted her first West Ham United goal against Aston Villa in October, where she calmly slotted home the second goal in a 2-1 win at Bescot Stadium in Walsall.
Clinical from @2026honoka! 🔥
— West Ham United Women (@westhamwomen) October 17, 2022
The midfielder bagged her first goal for the Hammers on Saturday! 🙌#AVLWHU | ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/wvkp0eNtjQ
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.
Matches will be available to watch in the UK across the BBC and ITV.
For all the latest news on Hammers in action at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, stay up to date with whufc.com!
