🏏 Sun, 21 Sep 2025 12:00 BST
Brighton Women
vs
West Ham Women
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Few WSL fixtures carry this much Japanese interest. Brighton start Takako Seike and Moeka Minami with September signing Fuka Tsunoda on the bench, while West Ham lead the line with Riko Ueki and keep Yu Endo in reserve. Four of those five, Seike, Minami, Tsunoda and Endo, all came through spells at Urawa Reds Ladies, so a large slice of recent WE League history is gathered on the South Coast.
- Takako Seike, 29, occupies Brighton's right wing and remains the only player in WSL history to score a hat-trick on debut. Before crossing over in 2024 she swept the 2023-24 WE League awards, taking the Golden Boot, the MVP prize and a place in the Best XI in the same campaign. Her calling card is versatility: she is comfortable in essentially any outfield role, which lets Brighton adjust her workload up and down the flank.
- Moeka Minami anchors Brighton's back line. The 26-year-old Japan centre-back helped AS Roma to consecutive Serie A titles before joining permanently in June 2025, and she captained Japan at the U-19 Asian Cup and the U-20 World Cup. Alongside her is Caitlin Hayes, the 29-year-old Republic of Ireland defender signed from Celtic in January 2025, whose aerial strength complements Minami's organisation.
- Minami's direct opponent is a familiar one. Riko Ueki, the 26-year-old Japan striker leading West Ham's line, scored four at the U-17 World Cup and five in Japan's U-20 World Cup triumph, then finished as her country's top scorer at the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup. She is only 165cm, but her movement in the box and the speed of her finish make her dangerous, and two international team-mates duelling in the same penalty area is the pick of the individual battles.
- Brighton's attack leans on two Arsenal loanees. Rosa Kafaji, 22, scored 28 goals for BK Hacken and added four in the Women's Champions League, and the Sweden international brings pace and relentless running from the left. Through the middle is Michelle Agyemang, 19, named the best young player at Euro 2025, a WSL debutant at 16 who scored 41 seconds into her senior England debut.
- Brighton's midfield is run by two former Chelsea players. Fran Kirby, 32, the 'Mini Messi' who collected a string of trophies in west London and was twice named PFA Player of the Year, joined the Seagulls in 2024. Beside her is Jelena Cankovic, 30, a Serbia international who won back-to-back WSL titles with Chelsea and also played for Barcelona and Rosengard. How much time on the ball that pair get will define Brighton's afternoon.
- West Ham's midfield is set by captain Katrina Gorry. The 33-year-old Australian has more than 100 caps and was named AFC Player of the Year in 2014; at 155cm she wins the ball low and releases it forward quickly, and her career has taken her through seven countries including a spell at Vegalta Sendai Ladies. Next to her is Finland's Oona Siren, 24, a two-time Finnish champion with KuPS.
- Experience runs right through West Ham's defence. Shelina Zadorsky, 32, has over 100 Canada caps, Olympic bronze from Rio 2016 and gold from Tokyo 2020, plus four years at Tottenham. Left-back Verena Hanshaw, 31, is an Austria centurion who made the Euro 2017 Team of the Tournament and delivers from a reliable left foot, while Eva Nystrom, 25, started every Finland qualifier for Euro 2025.
- Both goalkeepers are worth the ticket. Brighton's Chiamaka Nnadozie is a 180cm Nigeria international who arrived from Paris FC in the summer of 2025 and collected a CAF award in 2025. West Ham counter with Poland's Kinga Szemik, 28, who kept a clean sheet in the Euro 2025 qualifying play-off that carried her country to a first major tournament and is rated for her reflexes and penalty saves.
- The benches offer plenty in reserve. Brighton can introduce Fuka Tsunoda, the 20-year-old holding midfielder who won five domestic honours at Urawa including two WE League titles, and Carla Camacho, also 20, signed from Real Madrid in August 2025 after winning the U-17 World Cup. West Ham have Yu Endo, who made 171 appearances across 15 years at Urawa, Wales striker Ffion Morgan with over 50 caps, and Lyon-schooled Switzerland teenager Leila Wandeler.