West Ham United v Eintracht Frankfurt
UEFA Europa League semi-final first leg, Thursday 28 April 2022, 8pm BST
West Ham United's European tour continues with an historic UEFA Europa League semi-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday evening.
Having overcome opposition from Croatia, Belgium, Austria, Spain and France to reach the final four, the Hammers now face German opposition, with a place in the final in Seville the reward for the winners on aggregate.
The first of two legs takes place at London Stadium, where the vast majority of a capacity 60,000 crowd will once again roar on David Moyes' squad in the Club's first proper European semi-final in 46 years.
Incidentally, that tie also saw West Ham take on Eintracht, coming from behind to win 4-3 on aggregate in a thrilling European Cup Winners' Cup semi-final in the spring of 1976.
This time around, both clubs topped their respective Europa League groups, with West Ham dominating GNK Dinamo Zagreb, KRC Genk and Rapid Vienna to win Group H with a game to spare, while Eintracht won Group D without losing a match to finish ahead of Olympiacos, Fenerbahçe and Antwerp.
West Ham then came from behind to defeat Sevilla 2-1 in the round of 16 and Lyon 4-1 in the quarter-finals, while the Bundesliga side overcame Real Betis 3-2 and Barcelona 4-3 respectively.
Looking back into history, West Ham won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1965, reached the final again in 1976 and made the quarter-finals in 1981, losing to Soviet Cup winners Dinamo Tbilisi. In 1999, Harry Redknapp's side won the UEFA Intertoto Cup and reached the UEFA Cup second round. The Hammers were twice involved in the UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds in 2015 and 2016, but were eliminated before the tournament proper.
Frankfurt won the UEFA Cup in 1980, defeating fellow West Germans Borussia Mönchengladbach in the final. Prior to that, Eintracht won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1967 and famously reached the European Cup final in 1960, losing 7-3 to Real Madrid in the final.
Ticket news
West Ham United have sold out all General Admission tickets and Club London packages at London Stadium for what is the Club's biggest home European tie in over 40 years.
Supporters are encouraged to arrive at London Stadium as early as possible for Thursday's tie.
To enquire about Club London packages for our remaining home Premier League fixtures; please call 0204 551 0037 or click here.
Official Programme
West Ham United's award-winning Official Programme for Thursday's historic UEFA Europa League semi-final first-leg tie with Eintracht Frankfurt is on sale now.
To mark the Club's biggest European night in over four decades, we've put together a commemorative 116-page issue packed with exclusive content.
Thursday's issue is crammed full of exclusive and exciting content, including a feature interview with rock solid centre-back Craig Dawson, European Cup Winners' Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst's West Ham Scrapbook and a catch up with members of the West Ham team which defeated Eintracht at the semi-final stage of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1976.
We've also got exclusive columns penned by manager David Moyes and Club captain Mark Noble, an in-depth guide to our visitors from Germany and the latest news and views from the Academy of Football, Women's team and Foundation as well as much, much more!
Issue 26 of a memorable 2021/22 season is now available to order online here for just £3.50, plus £1.49 postage and packaging*.
*For UK addresses only. Postage and Packaging £3.49 for Europe/£6.49 for Rest of the World
Update on supporter access to London Stadium
West Ham United can provide an update to supporters on their access to London Stadium for the remainder of the 2021/22 season, following the Government’s easing of COVID-19 Autumn and Winter Plan B restrictions.
In line with the latest Government guidance, COVID passes will no longer be a condition of entry to Premier League matches.
Supporters will no longer be required to complete a health declaration form before the match, nor present any form of COVID certification on matchday.
West Ham United, the Premier League and its clubs continue to urge fans to follow public health guidance to keep each other safe on a matchday, including wearing face coverings when indoors or in crowded areas.
A Code of Conduct remains in place and is updated to reflect the latest changes in Government and Premier League guidance. As COVID-19 restrictions ease, it is vital supporters continue to do all they can to minimise the risk of passing on COVID
Supporters should note that stadium access processes continue to remain subject to change, in line with changes to COVID protocols or guidance issued by the Government, Premier League and SGSA.
Travel news
Supporters are advised to check their journeys before travel, with resources such as TfL's Journey Planner or the TfL Go app helping to avoid some essential works across the transport network. Supporters may also wish to visit the National Rail website to plan their journey if traveling on the rail network.
There are some service disruptions that supporters should be aware of on Thursday 28 April:
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- Ockendon line - Due to Network Rail undertaking maintenance works, the 00:11 service will be diverted via an alternative route and Barking to Ockendon and will not call at Upminster. The train will call at stations at different times which are shown in the timetable below. A rail replacement service will run between Upminster and Ockendon.
Metropolitan line
- A special service will run until further notice, please check before you travel.
Northern line
- There is no service between Moorgate and Kennington due to major upgrade works. London Buses Route 733 will operate between Moorgate and Oval via Bank, London Bridge, Borough, Elephant & Castle and Kennington.
How can I follow the game?
Kick-off on Thursday is at 8pm BST, with the tie being broadcast live on television by BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate in the UK. Please check your local TV listings if you live outside the UK.
We will also be covering the game live with a blog and audio commentary on whufc.com and our Official App and across our social media channels, with goals, highlights and exclusive reaction to follow after the final whistle.
Team news
West Ham United will almost certainly be without centre-backs Angelo Ogbonna (knee), Issa Diop (ankle) and Kurt Zouma (ankle), but have no other fresh injury or suspension issues ahead of Thursday's tie.
Eintracht Frankfurt will be without the injured goalkeeper Diant Ramaj (knee) and left-backs Christopher Lenz (toe) and Jan Schröder (muscle injury).
The Germans will also have to make do without suspended centre-back Evan Ndicka and midfielder Kristijan Jakić, who was sent-off in the 3-2 second-leg win over Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
However, defender Tuta returns from his own suspension, which forced him to miss that victory at Camp Nou.
Yellow cards from previous rounds have now been wiped, meaning every player not already suspended starts afresh in the semi-finals. The only way a player can now miss the final is to be sent-off.
UEFA Europa League
Each manager may use five substitutes in the fixture evening, to be made at half-time or during up to three other breaks in play.
The opposition – Eintracht Frankfurt
The origins of Eintracht Frankfurt date back 123 years, to when Frankfurter Fußball-Club Viktoria von 1899 was formed.
Viktoria joined the new local Nordkreis-Liga in 1909, merged with Frankfurter Fußball-Club Kickers in 1911 to become Frankfurter Fußball Verein (Kickers-Viktoria) and won three league titles prior to the start of the First World War.
In 1920, another merger, this time with Frankfurter Turngemeinde von 1861, formed TuS Eintracht Frankfurt von 1861, and the club we face tonight was formally born.
After another name change in 1927, to Sportgemeinde Eintracht Frankfurt (FFV) von 1899, the club continued to challenge for a variety of local and regional league titles and reached the German championship final in 1932, losing to Bayern Munich.
Football in Germany continued to be regionalised during the Third Reich, with Eintracht winning the pre-war Gauliga Südwest in 1938. After the war ended, the club was placed in the Oberliga Süd and won it in both 1953 and 1959.
The latter success was followed by victory over local rivals Kickers Offenbach that secured the national title and a place in the 1959/60 European Cup. There, Eintracht went all the way to the final before famously losing 7-3 to Real Madrid in the final at Glasgow’s Hampden Park.
Those achievements meant it was no surprise that when the new national professional Bundesliga was launched in 1963, Eintracht were among the 18 teams invited to be part of it.
The Frankfurters remained in the top-flight for its first 33 seasons, finishing third on five different occasions and going closest to winning the title in 1991/92, when they ended the campaign just two points behind champions VfB Stuttgart.
However, there were struggles too, with relegation play-offs needing to be won in 1984 and 1989, and Eintracht dropped out of the Bundesliga for the first time in 1996.
That began a period of yo-yoing over the next decade and a half, but, like West Ham United, Eintracht have now been a top-flight club for ten consecutive seasons since winning promotion in 2011/12.
Indeed, there are a number of similarities between the two, with both club’s origins in the 1890s, both winning their national cup competitions on multiple occasions, a single major European trophy and the UEFA Intertoto Cup and achieving a record-high finish of third in their respective professional leagues. The German word ‘Eintracht’ even roughly translates to the English word ‘United’!
Speaking of those cup wins, Frankfurt have won the DFB Pokal – Germany’s equivalent of the FA Cup – on five occasions, with the most recent of those in 2018. They also lifted the Intertoto Cup as long ago as 1967, before defeating fellow Germans Borussia Mönchengladbach to win the UEFA Cup in 1980.
While the Bundesliga continues to be dominated by Bayern Munich and, to a lesser extent, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt remain one of Germany’s biggest clubs – a reputation our visitors would undoubtedly love to confirm by winning this season’s UEFA Europa League.
Previous meetings
This will be the second time we have met Eintracht Frankfurt in European competition.
The first was in the spring of 1976, when John Lyall's Hammers recovered from a 2-1 first-leg defeat in West Germany to score a dramatic 4-3 aggregate win in the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup.
The second leg was held on a wet evening at the Boleyn Ground on 14 April 46 years ago.
Trevor Brooking put the Irons in front on the night and levelled on aggregate before Keith Robson belted in a second from 25 yards.
Brooking's superb individual third made it 3-0 before Klaus Beverungen's 87th-minute goal set up a grandstand finish, but with goalkeeper Mervyn Day in sensational form, West Ham clung on to go through.
Prior to that unforgettable tie, West Ham visited Frankfurt's old Waldstadion home for three tour/friendly matches and won all three – 4-0 in May 1923 and 2-1 in both May 1928 and August 1965.
Match officials
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Assistant Referees: Joost van Zuilen (NED) and Johan Balder (NED)
Fourth Official: Tasos Sidiropoulos (GRE)
VAR: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Assistant VAR: Dennis Higler (NED)
Thursday's tie will be refereed by the Dutch official Serdar Gözübüyük.
The 36-year-old was born in the city of Haarlem in October 1985 and joined the Eredivisie list of top-flight referees in the Netherlands at the age of just 24 in 2010.
Since then, Gözübüyük has accumulated a huge amount of experience, refereeing 79 UEFA matches, including 32 in the UEFA Europa League.
While he has yet to officiate a West Ham United fixture, he did referee Eintracht Frankfurt's 4-1 Europa League group-stage win over Lazio in October 2018.
Last season, he was in London to referee Tottenham Hotspur's 2-0 Europa League round of 16 first-leg victory over Dinamo Zagreb, while he recently took charge of Liverpool's recent 3-3 UEFA Champions League quarter-final second-leg tie with Benfica at Anfield earlier this month.
