West Ham 22/23 — Conference League Winners: Full Squad & Ratings
West Ham 2022/23 season — all 18 players rated, best XI, and how to draft them in 38-0.
Draft this era — play 38-0 free Spin the slot machine through 44 historic squads and build your all-time Premier League XI. No download, no account.West Ham 2022/23 — Season Story
West Ham United's 2022/23 season was the strangest and most wonderful in the club's modern history: a relegation-level league campaign and a triumphant European run that ended with the Europa Conference League trophy — the club's first major honour since 1980 — lifted in Prague by a captain who was already saying goodbye.
The league form was genuinely bad: 14th place, 40 points, and a winless run from mid-February to mid-April that left fans fearing the worst. David Moyes' side could not score — 42 goals in 38 games, the worst attacking record outside the bottom three — and the home form, once a fortress, collapsed completely: only four home league wins all season.
Europe was a different story. The Conference League campaign was near-perfect: 12 wins and two draws from 14 matches, a 5-2 aggregate win over Gent in the quarter-finals, and a 3-1 aggregate win over AZ Alkmaar in the semi-finals that included a famous away comeback. The final in Prague against Fiorentina was decided by the only moment of real quality: Jarrod Bowen running onto Lucas Paqueta's through ball in the 90th minute and finishing calmly for a 2-1 win.
The trophy was the first major silverware of the club's Premier League era and the first since 1980. Declan Rice, the captain who had carried the team for years, lifted the cup in what everyone knew would be his last West Ham appearance before his record move to Arsenal — the perfect, bittersweet ending to an era. The 2022/23 squad is rated 78.3 OVR in the 38-0 dataset.
The Prague Final
The final in Prague's Fortuna Arena was a game of few chances, and it was decided by the two best moments of the match. Said Benrahma's first-half penalty, awarded after a VAR review, gave West Ham the lead; Giacomo Bonaventura equalised for Fiorentina just after the hour; and then, in the 90th minute, Paqueta's perfectly weighted pass released Bowen, who finished first time past the goalkeeper.
The scenes at the final whistle — Bowen collapsing in tears, Rice lifting the trophy, the entire West Ham end singing — were the release of 43 years of near-misses. The club's only previous European trophy, the Cup Winners' Cup in 1965, had come with Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters; the 2023 version had its own heroes, and the 2-1 win made West Ham the first English winners of the Conference League.
A Season of Two Halves
The league campaign was a survival story dressed as a mid-table finish. West Ham won just 11 league games all season, went 11 games without a win between December and February, and took only 12 points from their final 15 league matches — a form line that would have meant relegation in any normal season.
The paradox was total: the same players who could not buy a league goal were ruthless in Europe, and the same fans who watched their team struggle at home every week travelled across the continent to watch them dominate. The 14th-place finish was the club's worst since 2019/20, and yet the season will be remembered as one of the greatest in the club's history — proof that in football, the trophy is the only memory that lasts.
Rice's Farewell
Declan Rice had been the best player at West Ham since he broke through in 2017, and 2022/23 was his final, greatest season: the captain of the Conference League winners, the midfield anchor of the entire team, and the player every major club in England wanted. His performances in Europe — dominating midfield in the semi-final at Alkmaar, leading the celebrations in Prague — were a farewell masterclass.
The move to Arsenal followed in July for a fee of 105 million pounds, a British record, and West Ham reinvested the money to rebuild. The 2022/23 squad is rated 78.3 OVR in the 38-0 dataset, and Rice, at 85 OVR, is the clear star — a defensive midfielder good enough to start for any team in the draft.
Key Players & Ratings
Declan Rice (85 OVR) is the standout — an elite defensive midfielder and the captain who carried the team through the European run. Lucas Paqueta (82) is the creative force, Jarrod Bowen (81) the match-winner in the final, Lukasz Fabianski (80) the veteran goalkeeper, and Kurt Zouma (79) and Nayef Aguerd (79) the defensive core.
The squad average of 78.3 OVR sits below the 80.7 pool average, and the ratings reflect the team's strange season: good players who underperformed domestically. Tomas Soucek (78), Said Benrahma (79), Michail Antonio (78) and the other forwards are all rated 76-79 — honest but unspectacular, which makes the top tier the only real draft value.
Full 18-Man Squad
| Pos | Player | OVR | Alt positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Łukasz Fabiański | 80 | — |
| GK | Alphonse Aréola | 78 | — |
| RB | Vladimír Coufal | 77 | — |
| RB | Ben Johnson | 74 | LB |
| CB | Kurt Zouma | 79 | — |
| CB | Thilo Kehrer | 76 | RB |
| LCB | Nayef Aguerd | 79 | LB |
| LB | Aaron Cresswell | 76 | LCB |
| LB | Emerson Palmieri | 76 | LWB |
| CDM | Declan Rice | 85 | CM, CB |
| CM | Lucas Paquetá | 82 | CAM |
| CM | Tomáš Souček | 78 | CDM, CAM |
| CAM | Pablo Fornals | 77 | LM, CM |
| RW | Jarrod Bowen | 81 | ST, RM |
| LW | Saïd Benrahma | 79 | CAM, RW |
| ST | Michail Antonio | 78 | RW |
| ST | Danny Ings | 77 | — |
| ST | Gianluca Scamacca | 77 | — |
Best XI — West Ham 2022/23
The highest-rated eleven available from this squad in 38-0:
- GK Łukasz Fabiański 80 OVR
- GK Alphonse Aréola 78 OVR
- RB Vladimír Coufal 77 OVR
- CB Kurt Zouma 79 OVR
- LCB Nayef Aguerd 79 OVR
- CDM Declan Rice 85 OVR
- CM Lucas Paquetá 82 OVR
- CM Tomáš Souček 78 OVR
- RW Jarrod Bowen 81 OVR
- LW Saïd Benrahma 79 OVR
- ST Michail Antonio 78 OVR
Drafting This Squad in 38-0
The draft value here is concentrated in three names: Rice for the defensive midfield role, Paqueta for creativity, and Bowen for a goal-scoring winger. Fabianski is a serviceable goalkeeper option, but below the top four the squad offers little — the 76-79 forwards are exactly the kind of picks that waste a landing.
In Legend mode, the hierarchy is short and worth memorising: Rice (85), Paqueta (82), Bowen (81), Fabianski (80). Take one of those four and this unfashionable landing becomes a good one; pick anything else and you have missed the point.
FAQ
What did West Ham win in 2022/23?
The Europa Conference League — the club's first major trophy since 1980 — beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the final in Prague, with Jarrod Bowen scoring the winner in the 90th minute.
How did West Ham's league season compare to their European run?
They finished 14th with 40 points — their worst league campaign in years — but went unbeaten in Europe until the final, winning 12 of 14 Conference League matches.
Who was West Ham's best player in 2022/23?
Declan Rice, rated 85 OVR in 38-0, the captain who lifted the trophy in his final appearance before his British-record move to Arsenal.
How should I draft this squad in 38-0?
Target the top tier — Rice (85), Paqueta (82), Bowen (81) — and avoid the 76-79 forwards. It is a top-heavy value squad where knowing the hierarchy matters.