The Lionesses face China – Women’s Friendly International
Preamble
Greetings and welcome to the friendly match between England and the Chinese squad at London’s Wembley. The match is set to be a thriller with the reigning European champions taking on the holders of the Asian Cup title.
England’s national stadium is packed for the match, which will see Fran Kirby recognized pre-match after her departure from the England squad before the European Championship this past summer.
Squad announcements will be shared imminently, but there was a last minute squad update for England. On Friday, the goalkeeper Khiara Keating withdrew from the squad with a minor injury, and so former number one Ellie Roebuck has been called up.
With Hannah Hampton unavailable, it will be interesting to see who the Lionesses' coach Sarina Wiegman selects in goal. Those details along with further updates are incoming before the start of the match at 5:30 in the evening GMT.
Squad Updates
The team news is in. Anna Moorhouse will be the goalkeeper for England in the unavailability of Hannah Hampton and Khiara Keating.
England's starting eleven: Moorhouse, Bronze, Charles, Walsh, Le Tissier, Morgan, Mead, Stanway, Russo, Toone, Hemp.
Reserves: Hings, Baggaley, Kendall, Wubben-Moy, Beever-Jones, Kelly, Kearns, Park, Blindkilde Brown, Roebuck, Clinton, Denton, Fisk, Godfrey.
We are awaiting China’s team news now; when it comes through, I will provide the update.
Skipper News
Keira Walsh is serving as captain for the Lionesses with Leah Williamson still injured. Here’s what she had to say before this clash:
Walsh assumes captaincy as England confront new hurdle in meeting of continental winners.
First Cap News
This evening’s match will be Anna Moorhouse's debut for England. She featured in the Euro-winning side who triumphed this past summer, but she did not feature with Hannah Hampton in the number one shirt.
Recent Action
The first leg of the Women’s Nations League title decider occurred yesterday; get the details on all of the highlights:
Women’s Nations League: Spain’s Cata Coll stops Germany, leaving final outcome open.
Live Feed
Real-time coverage from the fixture will continue with important moments and current information as the game progresses.