West Ham United will take on AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands in the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) semi-finals, following the Londoners’ 5-2 aggregate quarter-final victory over KAA Gent.
The Hammers will meet their Dutch Eredivisie opponents over two legs, the first leg on Thursday 11 May at London Stadium and the second leg on Thursday 18 May at AZ Stadion in Alkmaar, after the Pascal Jansen’s side defeated Belgians RSC Anderlecht on penalties.
West Ham are seeking their second major European trophy, having won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965. David Moyes’ side reached the UEFA Europa League semi-finals last season.
AZ are seeking their first European trophy, having been defeated by Bobby Robson’s Ipswich Town in the 1981 UEFA Cup final. This is their first semi-final since reaching the last-four of the UEFA Cup in 2005.
Ticket details for our UECL semi-final tie with Alkmaar will be announced in due course on our official website, app and social media channels.
This will be the first time West Ham face Alkmaar and just the third time we have been drawn against Dutch opposition in European competition. The Irons have progressed on both previous occasions.
The first was in the 1976 European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals, when John Lyall’s Hammers recovered from 4-0 down at half-time in the first leg against Den Haag to draw 5-5 on aggregate and go through on away goals. The second was in the summer of 1999, when Harry Redknapp’s side won by a single goal home and away to defeat Heerenveen 2-0 on aggregate in the UEFA Intertoto Cup semi-finals.
The 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final will be played at the Eden Arena in Prague, Czech Republic, on Wednesday 7 June.
