The Lionesses versus the Chinese team – Female Friendly Fixture
Preamble
Welcome everyone to the exhibition game between England and China at the iconic Wembley. This promises to be an exciting contest with the current Euro titleholders facing the holders of the Asian Cup title.
The home of English football is fully booked for the match, which will see Fran Kirby celebrated pre-match after her international retirement before the Euro tournament this past summer.
The team news will be revealed soon, but there was a last minute squad update for England. On Friday, the goalkeeper Khiara Keating withdrew from the squad with a slight knock, and so former number one Ellie Roebuck has been called up.
With Hannah Hampton out of action, it will be interesting to see who the Lionesses' coach Sarina Wiegman selects in goal. That news and all the other updates are on the way before kick-off at 17:30 GMT.
Team News
Squad details are now available. Anna Moorhouse will be the goalkeeper for England in the absence of Hannah Hampton and Khiara Keating.
England's starting eleven: Moorhouse, Bronze, Charles, Walsh, Le Tissier, Morgan, Mead, Stanway, Russo, Toone, Hemp.
Substitutes: Hings, Baggaley, Kendall, Wubben-Moy, Beever-Jones, Kelly, Kearns, Park, Blindkilde Brown, Roebuck, Clinton, Denton, Fisk, Godfrey.
I am searching for the squad from China now; once it is available, I will post it.
Captaincy Update
Keira Walsh is serving as captain for the Lionesses with Leah Williamson still sidelined. These were her comments before this match:
Walsh assumes captaincy as England confront new hurdle in meeting of continental winners.
Debut Alert
This evening’s match will be Anna Moorhouse’s debut for England. She was a part of the Euro-winning side who won this past summer, but she did not play any minutes with Hannah Hampton in the starting goalkeeper role.
Previous Match Recap
The initial encounter of the Women’s Nations League title decider occurred yesterday; review all of the action:
Women’s Nations League: Spain’s Cata Coll denies Germany to keep final in the balance.
Match Updates
Live updates from the game will proceed with important moments and timely updates as the match proceeds.
