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Jarrod Bowen fires West Ham to Europa Conference League victory – first trophy for 43 years
Fiorentina 1 West Ham 2
By Sam Dean at Fortuna Arena
David Moyes was on the pitch, his arms raised above his head and his voice screaming towards the sky. Jarrod Bowen was off it, sprinting towards the West Ham United supporters behind the corner flag after scoring the goal of his life.
Club staff were on the touchline, their suits stretched to the limit as the emotions took over their bodies and minds. This is what history looks like. This is what glory feels like. This is the beauty of football, the delight of cup competition and the joy that comes when a trophy is secured for the first time since 1980.
Moyes has spent decades in management and he has seen most things in that time, but he has not seen this before. He has not experienced it before. A first major trophy, after so many years in the dugout, and a place in east London folklore: Moyes joins Ron Greenwood and John Lyall as the only managers to win a title for West Ham.
Greenwood, Lyall, Moyes. How about Bobby Moore, Billy Bonds and Declan Rice? The honour of captaining the side to a trophy was a prize that was so deserved for the England midfielder, who can now leave this summer in the knowledge that he will do so as a genuine club legend.
Neither Rice nor Moyes will ever forget where they were at around 10 minutes to 11pm in Prague on this June night, as the defence of Fiorentina parted and Bowen surged into the space behind them. It was a pass from Lucas Paqueta that justified his club-record transfer fee, and a finish from Bowen that will forever exist in West Ham’s history.
When the final whistle sounded just a few minutes later, Rice ran in one direction. Towards his people, his supporters. He was joined by his team-mates, their eyes wide, as the night of their dreams became reality in the most dramatic of circumstances. Really, it was typical of the modern West Ham.
It was hardly going to be simple, was it? Some rival clubs might wish to sneer at the Europa Conference League, to point out that it is Europe’s third competition. But they would be lying if they did not admit to pangs of envy at the looks on the faces of the West Ham supporters.
If football is not for nights like this, then what is it for? “Let’s party,” Kurt Zouma said, capturing the mood. As well as Bowen, there was a place on the scoresheet for Said Benrahma, so often an infuriating forward but here a deadly finisher from the penalty spot.
His effort had set West Ham on their way early in the second half, before the Italians struck back through Giacomo Bonaventura a few minutes later.
For nine months, across more than 11,000 miles, West Ham’s European bubble has refused to burst. They have travelled from Viborg to Larnaca and so many places in between, on a modern-day footballing odyssey that has been defined by goals, victories and, at times, violence.
Until this night, that violence had been inflicted upon West Ham, such as when their families and friends were attacked in Alkmaar a few weeks ago.
But here, for a few ugly moments, it was the Londoners who dished it out: Cristiano Biraghi, the Fiorentina captain, was struck on the head by a missile from the stands, and the blood poured down his skull.
The image, thankfully for West Ham, will not be the defining one of the night. There were too many snapshots of elation for that to be the case, from that Moyes celebration on the turf to the sight of Rice veering towards the fans, the trophy within his grasp.
Players were in tears, families were on the pitch, supporters were in disbelief. Rice will almost certainly not be seen in a West Ham shirt again, which is a source of sadness for their followers but also, in many ways, pride. What better way to bow out? What better way to say goodbye?
A fairy tale of the footballing variety, and an emotional ending for a player who will now be seen as one of this club’s finest-ever servants. The scenes at the end provided the most extreme contrast with the angst of the match itself. This was even more tense than most observers were expecting, and most observers were expecting it to be enormously tense.
In the first half it was all about shape and structure, and then at the end it was all about execution in the big moments. None were bigger than Bowen’s, with the ball in front of him and only Pietro Terracciano, the Fiorentina goalkeeper, in his path. Where were the Italian defenders? And, frankly, who of a West Ham persuasion cared?
There were other prizes, too. Victory means that West Ham will play in next season’s Europa League – a third consecutive European campaign. For Moyes it meant a place alongside the likes of Jock Stein, Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson in the list of Scottish managers who have triumphed in Europe.
To think, Moyes has come perilously close to the sack on numerous occasions this season. Here, the supporters sang his name. Who knows what the long-term future holds but, whatever happens over the coming years, he and West Ham will always have Prague, Bowen’s goal and this night when so many ambitions were fulfilled.
Match details
Fiorentina (4-3-3): Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Ranieri (Igor 84), Biraghi; Bonaventura, Amrabat, Mandragora (Barak 90); Gonzalez, Jovic (Cabral 45), Kouame 6 (Saponara 62).
Booked: Milenkovic, Amrabat, Mandragora.
West Ham United (4-2-3-1): Areola; Coufal, Zouma (Kehrer 61), Aguerd, Emerson; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Paqueta, Benrahma (Fornals 76); Antonio (Ogbonna 90).
Booked: Benrahma, Aguerd.
Referee: Carlos del Cerro (Spain)
West Ham win Europa Conference League: as it happened
10:43 PM
David Moyes interview
You don’t get many moments like this in football and I’ve had a long career.
It’s a great moment to have my dad here. [He’s 87.] The families always support you. You don’t have enough moments like this in football.
West Ham is a brilliant club, a big family club, a great community club in the East End. We’re growing all the time. It’s a great club that’s getting stronger, and tonight’s another step on the road to continued progress. Look at the quality of players [we now attract].
We’ve gone unbeaten in Europe and we only lost in the semi-final last year. We’ve had two great years and now we have a third [coming up].
Tonight was brilliant. It’s the best moment in my career, yes. I’d have to say that.
To win it in the last minute was amazing.
10:39 PM
Here's Declan Rice
It means absolutely everything. The lads have been so on it. I’m so happy fpr the fans, the manager and all the staff. No one knows them the player liaisons, the chefs, it’s for them. When Jarrod ran through on goal I said out loud to myself, ‘This is your time, Jads’.
It was full two hours before when we got here. I absolutely love this club. They took me in and made me one of their own.
The last six years I’ve played my heart out for this club, given my all to win. We’ve not had it easy, we’ve been facing two or three relegations but to be in that category [alongside Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds] wow.
A lot of the fanbase wanted the manager out. He come in and saved us. Pellegrini came in but then he came back and saved us again then qualified for Europe three times. He has to be our best manager.
I might be in the crowd in a minute.
There’s a lot of speculation about my future. I have two years left on my contract and I’m a West Ham player. I love this club, I can’t speak highly enough of it. I’m captain of this club. Let’s wait and see.
10:28 PM
At the age of 60, David Moyes wins his first major trophy
West Ham fans are joining in with the mandated rendition of that Queen song.
10:25 PM
Declan Rice lifts the Uefa Europa Conference League trophy
And becomes the third West Ham captain after Bobby Moore (1964 & 1965) and Billy Bonds (1975 & 1980) to win a major trophy.
10:23 PM
Emerson is a triple European champion
Having won the Europa League and Champions League with Chelsea, on the pitch for the whole game in the UEL final in 2019 and on the bench in 2021.
10:21 PM
Presentation time
Fiorentina go up for their runners-up medals. They were the better side but lacked Bowen’s clinical edge when they most needed it.
10:20 PM
Your post-match stats pack
West Ham have won their second-ever major European trophy, their first since lifting the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965.
West Ham won their 12th game in the Europa Conference League this season (D1), the joint-most victories by an English side in a single major European campaign (Chelsea also 12 in the Europa League in 2018-19.
Fiorentina have lost four of their five major European finals, losing each of their last three since their only ever such victory, against Rangers in the 1961 Cup Winners’ Cup.
West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen is the first Englishman to score the winning goal in a major European final since Alan Smith for Arsenal in the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup final against Parma.
West Ham’s 2-1 victory is only second time an English side has beaten a team in from Italy in 90 minutes in a major European final and the first since Arsenal’s 1-0 win against Parma in the Cup winners’ Cup in 1994.
Fiorentina’s Giacomo Bonaventura is the oldest Italian scorer in a major European final (33 years, 289 days) since Paolo Maldini for AC Milan vs Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League final, who was 36.
West Ham’s Said Benrahma became the first Algerian player to score in a major European final since Rabah Madjer for Porto against Bayern Munich in the European Cup final in 1987.
West Ham scored their 12th goal from the penalty spot this season, only Man City and Real Madrid (both 14) have netted more in all competitions among teams in the top five European leagues in 2022-23.
Fiorentina scored their 37th goal in the Europa Conference League this season, only four teams have ever scored more in a single campaign in a major European competition, all in the Champions League – Barcelona (45 in 1999-00), Bayern Munich (43 in 2019-20), Real Madrid (41 in 2013-14) and Liverpool (41 in 2017-18).
Said Benrahma scored his sixth goal from the penalty spot in all competitions this season, the most by a West Ham player since Mark Noble in 2011-12 (7).
10:17 PM
From our man in Prague
Football is beautiful, isn't it? When people aren't throwing stuff at each other, anyway. The celebrations of Bowen's winner were absolutely extraordinary. Never seen Moyes like that. Not sure we ever will again. Prague will be lively tonight.
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) June 7, 2023
10:13 PM
Michail Antonio is asked whether he has organised the Prague party
I’m usually chief organiser but we’ve got two Czech boys so I’ve had to pass over the baton today. Anything will be good tonight. As long as there’s alcohol I’m going to enjoy it.
10:11 PM
All the players are on the pitch with their kids
BT Sport keeps saying West Ham have won their first silverware for 58 years. Alan Taylor and Trevor Brooking want a word ... 58 years since their last European trophy.
10:10 PM
Jarrod Bowen speaks
I obviously dreamed of scoring but to score the winner in the last minute ... it’s what you always say you want to do. I’m so happy. We haven’t had the best season, me included but to do it for these fans, it’s so special. I’m over the moon. You make that run 10 times but you might get it once. And then you’ve got to put it away. I had a lot of time but I felt confident. I said this is the biggest game of my career. And obviously the emotion, I thought it was going to extra time but we got one more chance and we won it. I am over the moon.
10:05 PM
I'm warming to Don Hutchison who is a very fine pundit
‘We owe it to West Ham fans to be quiet for five seconds,’ he says. Too true. Belt up, Savage.
10:03 PM
Savage is being unbearable now
Screaming” ‘Go on Moyesey. Go on Moyesey! Moyesey’s going for it!’ As the West Ham manager dad dances. Let West Ham savour these pictures without all this bilge.
10:02 PM
Tom Morgan reports from Prague
There is clear nervousness for stadium authorities that we could see fresh clashes after the final whistle. Riot police are currently lining the West Ham end. The plastic cups had come raining down on the pitch for a second time as West Ham celebrated Bowen’s strike.
10:01 PM
Full time: Fiorentina 1 West Ham 2
West Ham win the Europa Conference League!!!
10:01 PM
90+7 min: Fiorentina 1 West Ham 2
Fiorentina free-kick wide on the right. Keeper goes up. Out it floats for a goal-kick.
10:00 PM
90+4 min Fiorentina 1 West Ham 2
And see off another storm of pressure, uncoordinated pressure.
09:59 PM
90+2 min Fiorentina 1 West Ham 2
West Ham repel a bombardment of long balls and crosses.
09:58 PM
GOAL: Fiorentina 1-2 West Ham
Paqueta with a wonderful pass inside his own half sent Bowen through from halfway, Biraghi playing him onside by half a yard. He ran through to the edge of the box, keeping just ahead of Igor then calmly finished with his left, skimming it over Terracciano who spread himself as wide as he could. What a finish.
Robbie Savage has been a right, royal pain in the backside tonight. But never more so than then. Ruining the moment with his prattling. Don Hutchison has been very astute by contrast.
UNBELIEVABLE SCENES!! 💥
Jarrod Bowen writes himself in West Ham history to surely clinch glory with the last kick of the game!! 🤩#UECLfinal pic.twitter.com/W2b8zqfR8W— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) June 7, 2023
09:54 PM
Yes! Goal stands
It was onside.
09:53 PM
VAR will check
Looks just about onside.
09:53 PM
GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fiorentina 1-2 West Ham (Bowen)
09:52 PM
88 min Fiorentina 1 West Ham 1
Mistake by Paqueta deep on the West Ham right when he is stripped of the ball by Biraghi, Mandragora and Amrabat. It’s Amrabat who cuts in to shoot with his right ... straight down Areola’s throat.
09:50 PM
87 min Fiorentina 1 West Ham 1
The Viola centre-forward Cabral heads the free-kick clear at the near post and for a moment there’s a threat that Gonzalez could break but Emerson gets back to cover.
09:49 PM
85 min Fiorentina 1 West Ham 1
Amrabat is booked for a foul on Emerson, catching him maliciously with his studs on his shin. West Ham free-kkick, wide left, parallel with the 18-yard line.
09:48 PM
83 min Fiorentina 1 West Ham 1
Fiorentina make another change: Igor ⇢ Ranieri.
09:46 PM
81 min Fiorentina 1 West Ham 1
Good save from Terracciano who was off balance, running out and had to adjust to dive to his right and push Soucek’s header wide. West Ham can’t do anything from the free-kick and Bowen jars his thigh in competing for the cross. He looks OK, though running back like the Tin Man presently.
09:44 PM
79 min Fiorentina 1 West Ham 1
West Ham long throw into the box from the right. Antonio goes for a shut-that-door back flick and catches Milenkovic in the face. The ball rebounds to Soucek whose shot is blocked on the line but the referee then blows for Antonio’s Larry Grayson foul on Milenkovic.
09:41 PM
77 min Fiorentina 1 West Ham 1
Coufal shoots over from the free-kick. Fiorentina restart quickly with the goal-kick, send Biraghi up the left to cut in and wobble a right-foot shot at goal that Areola easily clutches abpve his head.
09:39 PM
75 min Fiorentina 1 West Ham 1
Better from West Ham as Paqueta springs to life and bombs down the left. Milenkovic can’t keep pace so brings him down and accepts the yellow card that was inevitable.
Fornals ⇢ Benrahma.
09:36 PM
73 min Fiorentina 1 West Ham 1
Oh my goodness. Fiorentina should be ahead. West Ham are wilting and once again they’re opened up by a diagonal. Cabral traps it with the deftest touch then lays it back to Mandragora, 12 yards out. Soucek dives in to try to block and Mandragora steers it wide with his left. Had to score. Just the keeper to beat from 12 yards. Soucek tried to interfere but got there too late to disrupt him.
09:30 PM
GOAL!
Fiorentina 1 West Ham 1 (Boaventura) Great finish. Long diagonal left to right. Gonzalez beasts Emerson in the air and nods it to the right of the penalty spot. Bonaventura cushions it perfectly with his left foot then thumps it into the bottom left with his right. Amrabat’s long diagonal opened up the defence like a can of beans.
Fiorentina hit back with a quick response!! 🙌
It's all square in Prague... 👀#UECLfinal pic.twitter.com/gDXnZPT46q— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) June 7, 2023
09:30 PM
65 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 1
Robbie Savage is rather overselling the penalty. It wasn’t in the top corner but it was well hit. Cabral’s stab in the box on the end of a right-wing cross hits Aguerd on the chest and then the upper arm. Accidental, says Don Hutchinson. Most of them are. Not given.
09:28 PM
63 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 1
Both sides make changes:
Saponara ⇢ Kouame
Kehrer ⇢ Zouma.
09:25 PM
GOAL!!!!
Fiorentina 0-1 West Ham (Benrahma, pen) Buries it. Thumps it high, right of centre as Terracciano went the other way.
Saïd Benrahma rockets the ball into the back of the net from 12 yards!! 🤩
The West Ham fans are on their feet!! ⚒️#UECLfinal pic.twitter.com/kWXoMwZpEX— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) June 7, 2023
09:24 PM
Penalty!
Not deliberate. His arm was up in the running position and his momentum tapped the ball away from Bowen.
Benrahma will take.
09:23 PM
VAR check for possible West Ham penalty
The ref is sent over to the screen to make a call on a handball. Briaghi’s hand touched the ball that knocked it away from Bowen.
09:21 PM
58 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
The ball breaks to Kouame on the left and he cuts inside but shanks a shot tepidly straight at Areola.
09:20 PM
56 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
West Ham try to break the press by going long up to Antonio who wins the header and nods it back to where Bowen ideally would be ... but he is 10 yards further back. He’d been doing his defensive donkey work and couldn’t get up in time. Nothing moves as fast as the ball, they used to say.
09:18 PM
54 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Amrabat is at the hub of everything Fiorentina do ... passes long and short, creating the rhythm, dictating the tempo.
09:17 PM
52 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Antonio has rolled the legs of his shorts up very high again and looks like he’s wearing a loin cloth. He has time to do that because Aguerd and Gonzalez are hurt after an aerial collision. Aguerd is booked for hitting Gonzales before the ball.
09:14 PM
50 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Antonio takes the throw, hurling in a Howitzer but it’s not flat enough and Terracciano barges his way through his defence to catch.
09:13 PM
49 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Big shout for a West ham penalty when Bowen is touched on the back of the head by Biraghi but there wasn’t much contact and West Ham have to make do with a corner that Cabral clears at the near post out for a throw.
09:12 PM
47 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Soucek is penalised for knobbling Ranieri in the air and sending him on to the floor like a bag of spanners. Fiorentina take the free-kick in their own half and probe dangerously for 45 seconds but neither Dodo nor Mandragora can deliver an accurate cross.
09:10 PM
46 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Fiotentina make a change Cabral ⇢ Jovic who was injured in the process of putting the ball over the line.
08:59 PM
Half-time: Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Not your bog-standard 0-0. Plenty of incident, quite a bot of quality from Fiorentina, West Ham striving to hurt them on the break but lacking composure and a raucous atmosphere, punctuated by a couple of reprehensible incidents from a handful of stupid West Ham fans chucking pint pots, vapes and, possibly, coins, at Biraghi, one of which cut his shaved head.
A nervy end to the half from Hammers fans as Luka Jovic gave Fiorentina the lead...
The striker was however just about offside... 👀#UECLfinal pic.twitter.com/hl4WixwACv— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) June 7, 2023
08:51 PM
VAR check ongoing
Kouame’s header was pushed out at full-stretch by Areola and Jovic pounced. Kouame was onside. Jovic looked fractionally off. And that’s the VAR verdict. Jovic, following in, had been maybe six inches offside when he pounced and stabbed it over the line, getting hurt as Areola scrambled to block it. VAR confirms he was just offside. No goal. As soon as Areola takes the free-kick, the ref blows for half-time.
08:50 PM
GOAL???
VAR check on whether Jovic was offside.
08:49 PM
45+3 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Rice hooks Biraghi’s overhit corner clear. No missiles this time as he went to place the ball in the right corner quadrant.
08:48 PM
45+2 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
I wonder if Cabral, who has scored eight goals in the competition, might be an early switch for Jovic who can be a lethal finisher but isn’t firing tonight or making the right runs to disrupt Zouma and Coufal.
08:47 PM
45 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Four minutes go up on the board. It’s all Fiorentina again possession wise and Bonaventura is played in with a ball over the top on the right after a clever run but he then overhits his shot aiming for Kouame and Areola plucks Biraghi’s return cross out of the air.
08:44 PM
42 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
West Ham free-kick 30 yards out, left of centre. Emerson’s floaty cross is cleared to the right. Coufal gobbles it up and sends a cross to the moon and back before it drops at the far post for Soucek to head invitingly towards the centre of goal eight yards out, begging for a finish. Nobody, nobody was there, as Louis MacNeice put it.
08:42 PM
40 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Fiorentina are fuming over the award of a corner to West Ham when Dodo was shepherding Benrahma towards the byline. It was Benrahma who had the last touch but the ref give sit the other way. Emerson’s first effort is headed out for another but his second reaches the back post and headed out towards the 18-yard line weakly. Kouame slips and ice thumps a left-foot effort into Mandragora.
08:39 PM
More from Tom Morgan
David Moyes has been fuming on the touchline at some puzzling decision from Spanish referee Carlos del Cerro Grande. Michail Antonio is being manhandled at every turn and was wiped out by a very late tackle on the right flank just now. No foul given, however. West Ham crowd now on Del Cerro’s back.
08:38 PM
Tom Morgan reports from Prague
Both sets of fans are fully cranked up inside the stadium. Declan Rice got the Hammers revved up ahead of kick off, waving his arms wildly up and down to rapturous cheers. The purple-clad Fiorentina fans have been arguably louder as the game has progressed, however. Scenes outside the stadium are said to be largely peaceful. Police have issued a renewed appeal for information in relation to ambush on West Ham fans by Italian ultras, however. “We ask citizens who were present at the attack between fans in the bar in Rytířská Street or the attack on the policeman in 28 Ríjna Street and filmed the incidents on their MT to contact us via the emergency line,” officers said.
08:37 PM
36 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Biraghi is patched up with a violet bandage and takes the corner to the near post but West Ham defend it well as a PA announcement begs the West Ham fans to behave themselves. Or the few morons rather.
08:34 PM
33 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Biraghi is being pelted by West Ham fans throwing plastic pint pots when he was trying to take a corner and he has a nasty cut on his head. He was hit by three of the five thrown.
Declan Rice goes over to speak to the West Han fans.
Tom Morgan reports from Prague
Ugly scenes from West Ham supporters as Fiorentina’s Cristiano Biraghi is left blooded after dozens of plastic pint cups and a vape are thrown at him as he attempts to take a corner. The vape caused a nasty gash on the back of his head and the match was halted for two minutes as medics were brought on to bandage him. The referee also ushered the Italian players away from the Hammers end. Play was eventually resumed after the stadium announcer appealed to the supporters: “Stop throwing objects onto the pitch immediately - please respect the players and officials.”
The mood had turned in the West Ham end in the minutes prior to the incident as they had taken issues with some dubious decisions by Spanish referee Carlos del Cerro Grande.
08:33 PM
31 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
‘You’re not fit to referee’ echoes around the Fortuna when Benrahma is booked for diving. But it was a blatant dive and after he had used all his skill to diddle Bonaventura and throw himself over Milenkovic who didn’t commit to a tackle.
08:31 PM
29 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Amrabat intercepts Bowne’s cross but it spins off the top of his head and loops up. Soucek, devastating in the air, tries to get there to apply the coup de grace but Gonzalez uses his strength to hold him off and Terracciano gathers it safely.
08:29 PM
27 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
West Ham change it, from Antonio coming short to them going long and getting him to run the channels. He claims he is brought down by Milenkovic, and it looks as though he was. Should have had a free-kcik, but the ref tells him to get up and lets play continue. David Moyes bolts out of his seat to protest
08:28 PM
25 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Milenkovic wriggles free in the box, meets the corner unimpeded and bullets a free header over the bar from 12 yards. Had to score.
08:26 PM
24 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Antonio fails to make the ball stick at his feet again and Milenkovic dispossesses him. Fiorentina move forward quickly through Kouame but good defending and an outrageous slice from Dodo when the opportunity to shoot finally came, allowed West Ham to escape with a corner.
08:23 PM
21 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Jovic is found in the box and, as befits a £60m striker (albeit a £60m flop), he leaves Emerson trailing with a dip of the shoulder to work a shooting chance 15 yards out on the right. Aguerd makes the block. West Ham need to hold the ball, find some composure. Wait for the counter that’s bound to come rather than trying to counter whenever they have the ball. Patience required.
08:20 PM
19 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Fiorentina are exploiting the fact that when they have possession and start to probe, Bowen, Paqueta and Benrahma retreat and leave them half the field to mount attacks from.
08:19 PM
17 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Coufal finds Antonio in his old position on the right wing. Antonio bullocks past Biraghi but then goes down when he pushes the ball ahead of him and too close to Ranieri, claiming a foul. The ref waves play on and Paqueta picks it up and has another go down the right, 25 yards out, but Biraghi gets back to stop him.
08:15 PM
16 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Scratch that. The replay shows that Rice didn’t make a clean connection at all. Apologies.
08:15 PM
15 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Coufal works the throw to the edge of the box where it’s flicked on for Rice to shoot from 20 yards. He makes a very clean connection but there’s a lot of violet traffic between him and the goal and he flashes the shot wide.
08:13 PM
13 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Bowen exploits a misplaced pass to drive down the right to the byline but doesn’t pick his head up early enough to see Paqueta’s run and stands it up for a well-marked Antonio instead. Fiorentina clear it for a throw-in.
08:12 PM
11 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Fiorentina have all sorts of tactical tweaks in their armoury, splitting the centre-backs for Amrabat to step between them as a sweeper, JOvic going left and using Bonaventura as a false nine, Milenkovic stepping into midfield to make it 3-3-1-3.
08:10 PM
9 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Antonio loses the ball when he needed to hold it and wait for Paqueta and Benrahma. Fiorentina shift it up to Jovic who turns it five yards back to Mandragora, 25 yards out, and he thumps a left-foot shot maybe a yard wide of the top-right corner. Sweetly struck but needed more precision.
08:08 PM
7 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Fiorentina are sweeping passes around the back four and then trigger an attack, launching a long left to right diagonal for Gonzalez that sails out of play.
08:07 PM
5 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Gonzalez and his manager, Italiano, wanted a penalty. claiming Rice elbowed the winger but he didn’t and so it wasn’t a pen. Nothing like one.
08:06 PM
Sam Dean reports from Prague
Much has been made of the size of the stadium here in Prague, with so many supporters unable to get hold of tickets, so it’s probably worth noting that there are lots of empty seats in the Fiorentina half of the ground.
08:05 PM
3 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Long delay while Fiorentina fuss over a free-kick in the left-back position. When they eventually take it, Fiorentina switch to the right and send Gonzalez down the right, beating Emerson but Rice recovers for him and gets between the winger and the ball on the byline, catching him in the face with his hand but stripping the ball away and taking it away from danger.
08:02 PM
1 min Fiorentina 0 West Ham 0
Fiorentina, who play with a very high press, attack up the left with Kouame who feeds it into Bonaventura who is surrounded, back to goal, 20 yards out but he spins and clatters his shot into Soucek. The ball rebounds to Paqueta who launches a rapid counter and switches to Antonio down the inside-left and he lets fly. Terraciano could have thrown his cap on it.
08:00 PM
The referee has made his final checks
A young girl brings on the ball and they’re about to kick off. Seems to be raining now.
07:59 PM
Prague has always been the home of hair metal in the east
And so it proved in the pre-match entertainment:
07:56 PM
Out come the teams
West Ham have the Fanta spill shirts but have opted for white shorts and socks rather than going Dutch.
07:56 PM
West Ham's last European final match-winner
Was Alan Sealey, who scored twice against 1860 Munich in 1965. He was the uncle of Les Sealey, whose posthumous memoirs were featured here on Telegraph Sport last week.
07:53 PM
A final word from the sponsors
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07:51 PM
Moyes on why he changed his full-backs
It was a difficult decision. Thilo Kehrer and Aaron Cresswell have played really well, so it was a tough call. But I felt Coufal and Emerson will go forward, they’re good in attack, and they can supply crosses and balls into the box.
I’m surprised Ogbonna didn’t come into the side. Always thought him and Aguerd were the best two centre-backs at the club.
07:45 PM
Sam Dean reports from Prague
Should Fiorentina be feared? Short answer: yes. The Italians have scored 36 goals in 14 games in the Europa Conference League this season, at least five more than any other team in European competitions. They have also attempted the most shots (261) and recorded the most shots on target (94) of any team in European competitions this season. Expect West Ham to soak up the pressure and counter-attack at pace.
07:44 PM
Kit watch
Fiorentina are the ‘home’ side and hence will don the viola. West Ham, consequently, will be in their third, major-chicken-tikka-masala-spillage away kit:
07:30 PM
A dispatch from the West Ham fan zone
West Ham Prague Fan Zone #COYI pic.twitter.com/3qvLa45jbg
— Darren Butler (@boogiebutler7) June 7, 2023
07:27 PM
David Moyes speaks
The most pointless of all TV conventions, the late pre-kick-off manager interview.
I believe we’re fresh coming into the game, the players are in good spirits. We’re ready and hopefully the players can show it. We’re really excited to be here in the final, it’s a great achievement for the players but now we want the bigger step. We want to win it. There’s a huge West Ham crowd here and we want to win it for them. We’re up against a good opponent, a good possession side, but most of all I hope we can do what we’ve done in the previous rounds [and put on a good show].
07:23 PM
Tom Morgan reports from Prague
There are hundreds of ticketless West Ham fans outside the stadium perimeter, some expressing frustration at a lack of touts. Stewards have been asking those without seats head to head to the city’s fanzone.
Prague police appear to be operating a slick operation compared to the chaos of other finals in recent years. Temporary metal fencing snaking along the main road has been erected outside to slow the footfall and it appears to be working. After the trouble in the city centre earlier, there is also a significant presence of riot officers keeping an eye on potential troublemakers.
The mood among the West Ham fans is buoyant, however. The stadium remains only two thirds full 45 minutes from kick-off, but they are in fine voice.
07:23 PM
West Ham's players were asked what this means to them
This is what it means. pic.twitter.com/4MOOWokI4O
— West Ham United (@WestHam) June 7, 2023
07:20 PM
Fiorentina's Nicolas Gonzalez
Was a stalwart of Argentina’s Copa America side and was due to start for them at the World Cup but had to withdraw with injury three days before the tournament started ... and had to watch at home as all his team-mates and his replacement, Angel Correa, become world champions.
07:12 PM
'One more year? One more year, Declan Rice?'
By Sam Dean in Prague
West Ham fans have heavily outnumbered Fiorentina supporters in Prague over the past two days and many of those who were fortunate enough to secure tickets were inside the ground early tonight. There were more than two hours to go until kick-off when the chants started.
West Ham’s players and coaches arrived early, too. They didn’t want to take any risks and the bus journey, we’re told, was quicker than expected.
There’s been plenty of time for them to kill, then. What has been going through the minds of the players over the past hour? And what must Declan Rice be thinking right now? His last game for the club is his biggest game for the club. There will be a lot of emotions coursing through that powerful body but he must maintain his composure tonight.
07:05 PM
When in Prague ...
07:01 PM
As reported
There has been sporadic fighting in Prague today:
Fiorentina and West Ham fans clashing in Prague this afternoon… 😨 pic.twitter.com/ch4NQI5ZfI
— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) June 7, 2023
06:52 PM
A word from our sponsors
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06:49 PM
Team news in purely traditional style
Fiorentina Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Ranieri, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Amrabat, Mandrogara; Gonzalez, Jovic, Kouame.
Substitutes Cerofolini, Saponara, Cabral, Ikone, Terzic, Venuti, Martinez Quarta, Duncan, Bianco, Barak, Brekalo, Igor.
West Ham Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Paqueta, Benrahma; Antonio.
Substitutes Fabianski, Johnson, Cresswell, Ogbonna, Kehrer, Potts, Fornals, Lanzini, Downes, Cornet, Ings, Mubama.
Referee Carlos del Cerro (Spain).
06:43 PM
Moyes welcomes chance to emulate Scottish immortals
By Sam Dean in Prague
David Moyes described West Ham United’s Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina as the “biggest moment” of his coaching career as he aims to become the first British manager since Sir Alex Ferguson to win a major European trophy.
Victory in Prague would also represent the first major honour of the 60-year-old’s managerial career and, speaking in Prague on Tuesday night, he admitted that it was “surreal” to be leading his players out on such a stage.
Moyes is hoping to join the ranks of legendary Scottish managers, including Ferguson, Jock Stein and Sir Matt Busby, who have triumphed in Europe.
“I have had a really good career, coaching since I was 34 or 35 years old, with over 1,000 games in football and 600 in the Premier League, been in some finals and some promotions but this is the biggest moment,” said Moyes. “It is for any coach, new or old.
“It is slightly surreal. I have watched a lot of football, all the big games, and was part of Uefa’s technical committee. But to turn up today as a manager and have your own dressing room, knowing that your team is performing here, is a big thrill for me.”
Moyes did not want to answer questions about the future of captain Declan Rice, who is expected to make his final appearance for West Ham before leaving this summer, and insisted that the club’s entire focus is on winning their first trophy in 43 years.
Victory would confirm the manager’s place in West Ham’s history but he said he is not motivated by the thought of being considered a club legend. “I would just like to be known as a football manager who is serious about his job and tries to do the best he possibly can,” he said.
Moyes comes into the game with ongoing speculation over his own future, having been on the brink of the sack on numerous occasions this season. In an interview with the Evening Standard, he made it clear that he wants to stay at the London Stadium beyond this campaign.
“There are too many good things about what we have done, what we should still try and do, to stop now,” said Moyes. “I see things that I would like to change, to do things slightly differently, but right now there is nothing in my head except: how do we win this final?”
Wednesday’s final represents a homecoming for West Ham duo Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal, who both played in the Eden Arena for Slavia Prague before moving to east London.
“When I realised one year ago that the final was in Prague, for me it was like ‘come on guys, we have to go there,’” said Soucek, who could have joined Fiorentina ahead of his transfer to the Premier League in 2020. “Now we are here, I can connect the two teams that I love.”
Fiorentina finished eighth in Serie A this season but have impressed in the Europa Conference League, scoring 36 goals in 14 matches — at least five more than any other team in European competitions. They have also attempted the most shots of any team in Europe this season.
