Home / Football West Ham 2-2 Leeds United (2-4 on penalties): Report, result, goals from FA Cup quarter final Highlights, analysis and report from West Ham vs Leeds in the FA Cup Written by Ben Miller Last Update: April 5, 2026 08:45:08 pm BST 8 min read Pascal Struijks winning penalty in a shootout sent Leeds United to the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1987 with victory against a West Ham United side who scored twice during second-half added time in an extraordinary tie at the London Stadium. Ao Tanakas 26th-minute strike and Dominic Calvert-Lewins penalty 15 minutes from time put Leeds in control before Mateus Fernandes replied in the 93rd minute and Axel Disasi drew the Hammers level three minutes later.West Ham had two goals disallowed during extra time, with Lucas Perri Leeds hero in their win on penalties at Birmingham in the fourth round saving in the shootout from Jarrod Bowen and Pablo.Debutant West Ham substitute goalkeeper Fin Herrick saved from Joel Piroe in the opening attempt of the shootout, with Kyle Walker-Peters and Tomas Soucek converting for the hosts and Calvert-Lewin, Brenden Aaronson and Wilfried Gnonto also scoring for Leeds.Daniel Farkes team will meet Chelsea in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium on April 25 or 26, while West Ham will spend the remainder of their season entirely focused on their attempt to escape the top-flight relegation zone.Table of Contents1 West Ham vs Leeds: Struijk sends Whites to Wembley2 Analysis: Struijks perfect penalty sends Leeds through3 West Ham team vs Leeds United4 Leeds team vs West Ham United5 West Ham United v Leeds United statsWest Ham vs Leeds: Struijk sends Whites to WembleyBoth goalkeepers displayed moments of brilliance during the first half, when Alphonse Areola tipped Leeds forward Noah Okafors curling shot behind and denied Anton Stach in a one-on-one, with a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check deciding Kilman had not fouled Stach with a sliding attempt to intervene.Brazil international Perri produced an exceptional save to thwart Castellanos from close range and pushed Bowens drive away, making it all the sweeter for Leeds when Tanaka started and finished the move that culminated in the midfielder opening the scoring from inside the box.Tanaka has not started a Premier League match since December, the month in which he netted in a win over Chelsea and scored a last-gasp equaliser in a 3-3 draw against Liverpool as part of a run of results that moved Leeds clear of the relegation zone.The Japan international featured in his countrys wins against Scotland and England during the international break and Tanakas memorable fortnight continued when he charged inside the box and showed supreme footwork to create space and fire in via defender Axel Disasi and the crossbar.Taty Castellanos almost equalised by heading Adama Traores cross against a post in the 62nd minute, but the sixth-bottom side in the Premier League doubled their lead through substitute Calvert-Lewin after Kilman was adjudged to have fouled Aaronson.VAR was again required for Leeds penalty, Craig Pawson consulting his pitchside monitor and booking Kilman as part of a sequence that ended with Leeds fans looking forward to a chance to vanquish any memories of their last semi-final appearance, when they lost after extra time against Coventry City at Hillsborough.West Hams sensational comeback attempt began when Nunes kept his composure to control the ball on his knee and find an unguarded net from the rebound after Bowen had collecting a pass from an angle inside the box, shifted outside the area to fashion an angle and hit the inside of the far post.Disasi met Traores inviting cross with a high boot the goal ruled valid following a check to equalise, giving West Ham a momentum they took into extra time, in which Castellanos had a goal ruled out for offside after Perri unfathomably decided to attempt a misjudged headed clearance rather than catch a long ball.Walker-Peters and Soucek then cleared off the line in quick succession and, after Perri saved from Castellanos at close quarters, Pablo had a goal disallowed for offside, having turned in the rebound after another long-range Bowen shot hit a post.Part of an inexperienced West Ham bench, 20-year-old Herrick replaced the injured Areola deep into the second half of extra time, receiving ample cheers from the home fans on his first touch and setting the scene for a fairytale that almost became reality. Analysis: Struijks perfect penalty sends Leeds throughLeeds have impressed since a difficult start to the season following promotion and Farke had backed his special and unique group to take the club back to Wembley, where they lost the Championship play-off final to Southampton under his leadership in 2024.Thats the perfect penalty, former Scotland striker Ally McCoist told TNT Sports of Struijks decisive kick, which went in off a post.Theres no way any keeper on the planet is saving that. Its probably a little close for comfort when it leaves your foot.What a game. What a cup tie. The drama was absolutely remarkable. One of those games youll be talking about for a long, long time.It had it all. I half-expected the young goalkeeper to come on and win it for West Ham, but it wasnt to be.Farke paid a certain price for fielding a strong team, with Joe Rodon forced off through injury after Stach had hobbled off because of that Kilman challenge, reappearing on crutches.Just look at what it means to those supporters, the FA Cup, ex-West Ham striker Dean Ashton told TalkSport after Calvert-Lewin scored during regular time on his return from England duty.Theyre ecstatic. It was so cool from Calvert-Lewin. He stepped up with puff of his chest and whipped it into the corner.West Ham team vs Leeds UnitedDefenders Konstantinos Mavropanos (concussion) and Jean-Clair Todibo (calf) were injured for West Ham, who made five changes from their 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa on March 22.Areola, Walker-Peters and Kilman, defender or midfielder Soungoutou Magassa and winger Traore came in.Wideman Crysencio Summerville missed out with a calf problem.Soucek and Pablo moved to the bench. Mavropanos, Mads Hermansen and Aaron Wan-Bissaka started against Villa but were not in the squad, while striker Callum Wilson, who had come off the bench in that game, also not involved.West Ham United starting XI: Alphonse Areola, Kyle Walker-Peters, Maximilian Kilman, Axel Disasi, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Freddie Potts, Soungoutou Magassa, Mateus Fernandes, Jarrod Bowen, Adama Traore, Valentin CastellanosWest Ham substitutes: Finlay Herrick, Pablo, Keiber Lamadrid, Tomas Soucek, Ollie Scarles, Mohamadou Kante, Airidas Golambeckis, Ezra Mayers, Joshua AjalaLeeds team vs West Ham UnitedLeeds made three changes from their 0-0 draw at home to Brentford on March 21, bringing in goalkeeper Perri alongside Tanaka and Okafor.Calvert-Lewin, Aaronson and Karl Darlow moved to the bench. Forwards Calvert-Lewin and Okafor had been doubts with hamstring issues.Left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson had been thought to be in contention to return after suspension but was ruled out by a knock suffered while with Sweden.Leeds United starting XI: Lucas Perri, Jayden Bogle, James Justin, Pascal Struijk, Joe Rodon, Jaka Bijol, Ethan Ampadu, Anton Stach, Ao Tanaka, Noah Okafor, Lukas NmechaLeeds substitutes: Karl Darlow, Sam Byram, Sebastiaan Bornauw, Sean Longstaff, Ilia Gruev, Brenden Aaronson, Wilfried Gnonto, Joel Piroe, Dominic Calvert-LewinWest Ham United v Leeds United statsThese teams had met three times previously in the FA Cup; the Whites won the first in 1923/24 after a replay, but the Hammers have won the last two, in 1929/30 and 2021/22West Ham have been eliminated from nine of their last 11 FA Cup quarter-final ties, with this their first since losing in a replay against Manchester United in 2015/16Hammers manager Nuno Espirito Santo had partaken in four previous domestic cup quarter-finals in his managerial career, seeing his sides progress every time: the 2013/14 Tacade Portugal with Rio Ave, the 2018/19 FA Cup with Wolves, the 2022/23 Saudi King Cup with Al-Ittihad and the 2024/25 FA Cup with Nottingham ForestEach of West Hams last five home matches have been draws after 90 minutes, winning one of their last seven games overall in all competitions after regular timeLeeds had lost three of their previous four away games at West Ham in all competitions (W1), having only lost two of their previous 18 beforehand (W10 D6)They have been eliminated from 16 of their last 19 FA Cup ties against Premier League opposition, including each of their previous seven in a row since a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the 2012/13 fourth roundIn their three previous quarter-finals since 1986/87, Leeds had lost in 1995/96 to Liverpool, 1997/98 to Wolves and 2002/03 to Sheffield United Topics: Daniel Farke FA Cup Jarrod Bowen Leeds United F.C. Nuno Espirito Santo West Ham United F.C. Follow us: Ben Miller Reporter Ben has more than 10 years' experience in sports journalism, covering two EURO tournaments, European club competitions, the Premier League, EFL and WSL and a variety of other major sporting events. Read more from Ben Miller
