The Women’s World Cup begins in France on Friday night and is set to be the biggest edition of the tournament yet.
There are four West Ham players who will be involved: Cho So-Hyun for South Korea, Jane Ross for Scotland, Adriana Leon for Canada and Ria Percival for New Zealand.
Here is some information on what to expect from them and their respective countries:
Cho So-hyun
Cho So-hyun is likely to be involved in the opener against hosts France, as she is one of South Korea’s key players – considered as one of their best of all time.
The 30-year-old captained her country for the 2015 tournament and will do so again this time around; she is also South Korea’s record appearance maker.
She made a total of 12 appearances for West Ham this season, providing one assist and also scored the penalty which got West Ham into the FA Cup final.
Aside from tonight’s game against France, South Korea will also face Nigeria and Norway.
Jane Ross
Jane Ross has a wealth of international experience, having represented her country 127 times, scoring 58 goals.
The 29-year-old was West Ham’s top scorer this season with a total of 11 goals in 30 matches, also assisting four times.
She will be handy if Scotland have to face a penalty shootout, as she showed when she scored the opener when spot kicks took West Ham to the FA Cup final.
Before joining the Hammers, she represented Manchester City and finished with a record of 25 goals in 61 appearances.
Scotland’s first game will come against England, before they face Japan and Argentina.
Adriana Leon
Adriana Leon has experience of making an impact in international tournaments, having scored on her debut to secure a win against China in the 2013 Four Nations Tournament and coming second in the scorer charts for the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship.
The Canadian forward has 15 goals in 57 appearances for her country and was part of their 2015 Women’s World Cup squad.
She has totaled 10 appearances for West Ham this season in which she scored three goals; she also scored in that semi-final penalty shootout.
Canada will be facing Cameroon, Ria Percival’s New Zealand and the Netherlands in the group stages.
Ria Percival
This will be Ria Percival’s fourth World Cup with New Zealand and she will be hoping to reach the knockout stages for the first time.
Percival predominantly plays at right back and has amassed 147 caps for her country, meaning she could win her 150th in France.
She represented West Ham 25 times this season, making two assists.
New Zealand will face the Netherlands, Adriana Leon’s Canada and Cameroon in the group stages.
