Three West Ham United women’s players will be representing their countries at the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which is taking place in India.
Tameka Yallop and Mackenzie Arnold have been called up for Australia, whilst Yui Hasegawa will represent Japan, who are the defending champions of the competition having beaten Australia in the final back in 2018.
The competition will begin on Thursday 20 January 2022, with the final taking place on the 6 February 2022.
The Matildas will face Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia in Group B and will be expecting to reach the knockout stages, with the top two teams from each group advancing, as well as two of the best third-placed sides.
Japan will be up against North Korea (the third highest ranked side in the competition behind Australia and the Japanese), Vietnam and Myanmar in Group B.
Both Yallop and Hasegawa have been key players for their countries in recent times and will be expecting to be heavily involved throughout the competition.
Yallop recently made her 100th cap for the Matildas in a friendly against the United States of America in the previous international break, which were warm-up matches for this competition.
Arnold faces competition to start between the posts from Arsenal’s Lydia Williams and young goalkeeper, Teagan Micah.
Hasegawa meanwhile featured in friendly matches against the Netherlands and Iceland in preparation for the tournament.
The matches will take place between three different host cities in India, those being Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune. All matches will be played behind closed doors as a precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Group Stage Schedule:
21 January 2022
Australia v Indonesia
Japan v Myanmar
24 January 2022
Philippines v Australia
Vietnam v Japan
27 January 2022
Japan v South Korea
Australia v Thailand
Unfortunately, all of these matches featuring West Ham United players will not be shown in the British Isles, but those who live further afield may be able to tune in depending on where you live!
We will bring you a round-up of the group stage right here on whufc.com after the final round of matches on the 27 January!
Everyone at West Ham United would like to wish the trio the best of luck during the competition and we look forward to welcoming them back at its conclusion.