The Lionesses take on the Chinese team – Women’s Friendly Match
Preamble
Greetings and welcome to the exhibition match between England and China at London’s Wembley. This promises to be an exciting contest 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 international retirement before the Euros this past summer.
Squad announcements will be revealed soon, but there was a recent squad update for England. On Friday, the goalkeeper Khiara Keating withdrew from the squad with a small issue, and so former number one Ellie Roebuck has been added to the squad.
With Hannah Hampton unavailable, it will be intriguing to observe who the Lionesses' coach Sarina Wiegman selects in goal. Those details along with further updates are coming up before the start of the match at 17:30 GMT.
Team News
The team news is in. Anna Moorhouse starts in goal for England in the absence of Hannah Hampton and Khiara Keating.
England: Moorhouse, Bronze, Charles, Walsh, Le Tissier, Morgan, Mead, Stanway, Russo, Toone, Hemp.
Bench: 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.
Leadership Role
Keira Walsh is captaining the Lionesses with Leah Williamson still injured. Here’s what she had to say before this clash:
Walsh steps up as England meet fresh challenge in battle of continental titleholders.
First Cap News
Tonight’s game will be Anna Moorhouse’s debut for England. She belonged to the Euros team who triumphed this past summer, but she remained on the bench with Hannah Hampton in the number one shirt.
Earlier Fixture Update
The opening match of the final of the Women’s Nations League was held yesterday; review all of the highlights:
Women’s Nations League: Spain’s Cata Coll stops Germany, leaving final outcome open.
Match Updates
Real-time coverage from the game will proceed with key events and current information as the action unfolds.
