Drawn in Group D of the Premier League International Cup, West Ham United U21s have now had dates and times for all four of our fixtures confirmed.
Mark Robson’s young Hammers qualified for the 32-club tournament for the seventh time as one of 16 English teams after finishing fourth in the 2024/25 Premier League 2 table.
Our U21s will face the development sides of Athletic Club, whom the young Hammers drew 2-2 against in last year’s tournament, on Wednesday 3 December, Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday 17 December, Anderlecht on Tuesday 6 January, and finally Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday 13 January.
All West Ham home games will be hosted at Chigwell Construction Stadium, the home of Dagenham & Redbridge and the Hammers' women's team, with all kick-off times scheduled for 7pm. All fixture times, dates and venues however, are subject to change.
Last season, Athletic Club of Spain advanced to the semi-finals before falling to eventual champions Nottingham Forest in extra-time, Sporting of Portugal reached the quarter-finals, and Anderlecht of Belgium finished bottom of their group without a point. Germany's Dortmund are taking part for the first time.
The other Premier League 2 clubs in Group D - who we will not be facing in the first phase of the competition but will be competing against for the top two positions - are Leeds United, Manchester United and Sunderland.
As was the case last season, participating clubs are split into four groups of eight, with four PL2 and four invited international clubs in each. Each side play four group-stage games, with every fixture featuring one PL2 team hosting an international opponent at their designated home ground. The top two in each group progress to the quarter-finals.
The Premier League International Cup was introduced by the Premier League in 2014/15. West Ham's best-ever finish in the tournament came in 2023/24, when we reached the semi-final stage before losing 3-2 to eventual runners-up PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands.
Last season, the U21s fell just short of the top two qualification spots in Group C. Successive 2-2 draws against both Benfica B and Athletic Club B put the young Irons in with a chance to progress, but a 2-0 defeat to eventual runners-up Olympique Lyonnais B saw us fall just short of the knockout stages, despite a 3-1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach II in our final group-stage tie.
