The duo also explained their thoughts on drawing Chelsea in the semi-finals
Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter
09:00, 06 Apr 2026
Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Leeds United celebrates scoring
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Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Leeds United celebrates scoring(Image: Getty Images)
Penalty poachers Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Pascal Struijk are both brimming with delight at the chance to play club football at Wembley for the first time in their careers, after Leeds United set up an FA Cup semi-final clash with Chelsea.
Struijk was injured when Leeds made the 2024 play-off final while Calvert-Lewin, who played for England at the national stadium 11 days ago, has never competed for Everton or any other club team under the Arch.
Calvert-Lewin scored the Whites’ second goal from the penalty spot in the second half of Sunday’s quarter-final win over West Ham, which ended his six-game scoreless streak and banished the demons of missing from 18 yards at Crystal Palace last month.
“It's no secret that I missed my last one against Palace away, so it was a big moment for me to make sure I put it away properly,” the striker told TNT Sports. I've been practicing in training just drilling it.
“When you miss one you want to go through your processes again and I have a process and I knew where I was going this time and put it away."
Calvert-Lewin also scored in the penalty shoot-out which followed an astonishing two-goal stoppage-time comeback from West Ham. The attacker said Leeds “let ourselves down with that” but was glad that the tie ultimately fell the away side’s way, with Chelsea between them and a place in the final.
He added: "It's always going to be a difficult match against Chelsea. They're a good side, but it's the FA Cup, we're going to Wembley.
“I’m excited. I've never had the opportunity to play at Wembley for a club before, so for me it was a big chance today. When it went to 2-2, I thought maybe it's not meant to be, but thankfully, we stuck in there and got the win."
Struijk stepped up to fire in the decisive kick in the shoot-out, firing his effort in off the post to send the away end wild. The defender - who has a specialty for spot kicks - said he was simply aiming to “put it as far in the corner as possible”.
He is delighted that he has the opportunity to make his Wembley debut having had to watch from the sidelines two years ago. “For me, it's been, especially since I missed out on the first time,” he told reporters.
“It's a great feeling. I'm very happy and very excited to play and to do it for the club. It is amazing.”
Struijk also believes that December’s win over Chelsea at Elland Road, albeit under a different manager, will fuel the Leeds squad with belief ahead of their last-four clash on weekend of April 25.
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He added: “For us, it shows confidence that we can go into this game knowing that we've beaten them already this season, and we got results (also 2-2 at Stamford Bridge in February), to be fair. We go there with nothing to lose.”