For the third consecutive year, West Ham United U18s will travel to Czechia to take part in the NEXTGEN CUP, an international U19 pre-season tournament hosted by AC Sparta Praha.
This year’s tournament runs from 6 to 10 August and features six teams. Joining the young Hammers in Group B are SK Slavia Praha and FC Midtjylland, while Group A is made up of Southampton, Rangers, and hosts AC Sparta Praha.
Tournament Structure...
The competition is split into two groups of three, with each team playing two group matches and a final placement fixture against their seeded counterpart in the opposite group.
The group stage will take place between Wednesday 6 August and Friday 8 August. All placement matches, including the final, will be played on Sunday 10 August, with the final kicking off at 5pm BST.
🔎 AC Sparta Praha na začátku srpna pořádá druhý ročník 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐆𝐄𝐍 𝐂𝐔𝐏u 🏆
Špičkovou evropskou konfrontaci v kategorii U19 zajistí šest týmů z Anglie 🏴, Česka 🇨🇿, Dánska 🇩🇰 a Skotska 🏴 #nextgencup | #acsparta
ℹ️ https://t.co/9FBqFaqGYi pic.twitter.com/v6joqp9z6f— Sparťanská mládež (@ACSparta_Mladez) June 23, 2025
Who will the Hammers face?
Lauris Coggin’s side have been drawn in Group B and will open their campaign against SK Slavia Praha U19s at 4.30pm BST on Wednesday 6 August, before taking on Danish outfit FC Midtjylland U19s on Friday 8 August at 2pm BST.
Depending on group standings, their third and final fixture will fall on Sunday 10 August at either 9am BST (fifth place play-off), 12noon BST (third place play-off) or 5pm BST if they qualify for the final.
Group A
Wednesday 6 August – SK Slavia Praha U19s – 4.30pm BST – TC Strahov - Pitch 1
Friday 8 August – FC Midtjylland U19s – 2pm BST – TC Strahov - Pitch 2
Placement Matches
Sunday 10 August – 5th place Group A – 9am – Loko Praha
Sunday 10 August – 3rd place Group A – 12noon – Loko Praha
Sunday 10 August – Winner Group A – 5pm – Prosek Praha
How to Follow...
Live streams and match reports for all West Ham United fixtures will be available across the Club’s website and app. Highlights and full reports will follow shortly after the final whistle.
Who will be representing West Ham United in Prague?
Although the NEXTGEN CUP is officially an U19s competition, with players born in 2006 eligible to feature, West Ham United will be fielding a younger squad made up of U18s and U16s who will form the core of the U18 side in 2025/26, a season in which the young Hammers will compete in the U18 Premier League South, FA Youth Cup, and look to defend their U18 Premier League Cup title.
Lead coach Lauris Coggin has named a 21-player travelling squad which includes nine second-year scholars, Finley Hooper, Callum Leacock, Jonathan Unwin, Andre Dike, Aaron Kamara, Lewis Beckford, David Chigwada, Chinaza Nwosu and Connor Brooks; ten first-year scholars: Vinnie Perkins, Joe Scanlon, Tomas Jonyla, Chukwuemeka Obi, Tyrone Omotoye, Tommy Goodger, Joel Kerr, Reggie Morris, Martin Peychev and Jephthah Medine. Completing the squad are two promising U16s schoolboys, Emmanuel Onyeka-Fejokwu and Reon Smith.
Last Time Out in Prague...
In 2024, the U18s kicked off their campaign with a commanding 6-2 win over Slavia Praha – who they’ll face in the opening match once again. Despite trailing by two at the break, West Ham stormed back with six second-half goals, including contributions from Elisha Sowunmi and Josh Ajala, the team’s top scorers in the 2024/25 season.
A last-minute goal conceded against Austria Wien in the final group game denied them a place in the final against hosts AC Sparta Praha. Instead, the young Hammers finished fourth, following defeat to Legia Warszawa in the third-place play-off.
The Story So Far...
This year’s West Ham U18s squad, a fresh mix of first-year scholars, returning second years born between September 2007 and August 2008, and a handful of U16s, have so far played four pre-season fixtures.
In July, they kicked off pre-season with a training camp in York, beating Salford City 4-2 and Leeds United 6-2. They then held Premier League Cup semi-finalists Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at St George’s Park. Ahead of their trip to Prague, the young Hammers then defeated Northampton Town 2-1 at Chadwell Heath.
