West Ham statement makes the club’s plans very clear ahead of the restart as Udinese friendly is scheduled

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A West Ham statement has made the club’s plans very clear ahead of the restart as a friendly against Udinese is scheduled.

There has been much speculation over how David Moyes would manage the World Cup break.

Supporters are understandably intrigued given West Ham are just one point off the bottom three as the Premier League pauses for Qatar 2022.

The Hammers went into the break off the back of three miserable, consecutive home defeats in six days.

Many, including Moyes himself, feel the break might have come at just the right time for West Ham offering the Scot and his staff and players some precious time to start putting things right on the training ground.

West Ham stars have been pictured back at training including a happy Kurt Zouma just a week after his knee operation.

Hammers captain Declan Rice, Lucas Paqueta, Alphonse Areola and Nayef Aguerd are flying the flag for West Ham at the World Cup.

But £10m summer arrival Thilo Kehrer is on his way home after a disastrous World Cup with Germany.

Kehrer was dropped for the opening match – a 2-1 defeat to Japan.

The West Ham defender was re-instated for a draw against Spain but was booked, hooked and widely criticised for his performance before being dropped for the win over Costa Rica – which was not enough to save Germany from crashing out at the group stage.

The Hammers need to regroup, refresh and refocus because the pressure will be on when the Premier League resumes.

Before getting down to work at Rush Green, Moyes and his players took some holiday time.

So what next for West Ham now the majority are back training?

How many friendlies will West Ham be playing?

Well Moyes had already arranged friendlies against Cambridge and Fulham.

Now a West Ham statement makes the club’s plans very clear ahead of the restart as a friendly against Udinese is scheduled.

In a statement on the club’s official website, West Ham announced Moyes and the boys will head to Italy to play Serie A side Udinese in a friendly on Saturday 10 December.

But the club has made it clear that the match is the third and final friendly that will be played by the team before the daunting trip to league leaders Arsenal on Boxing Day evening.

“David Moyes and his team will make the trip to the Dacia Arena with kick-off for the mid-season fixture set for 3pm CET (2pm GMT),” West Ham have announced.

“The game will serve as part of the Hammers’ preparations for the resumption of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign at Arsenal on Boxing Day. 

“The Irons’ trip to Italy is the third and final friendly match to be announced during the mid-season break for the FIFA World Cup finals, with a game at EFL League One side Cambridge United on Tuesday 6 December and a visit to fellow Premier League team Fulham on Saturday 17 December also confirmed.”

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