The Lionesses take on China – Female Friendly International
Preamble
Welcome everyone to the friendly fixture between England and the Chinese squad at the iconic Wembley. This promises to be an exciting contest with the reigning European champions taking on the reigning Asia Cup winners.
England’s national stadium is packed 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 shared imminently, but there was a last minute squad update for England. On Friday, Khiara Keating withdrew from the squad with a slight knock, and so former number one Ellie Roebuck has been summoned.
With Hannah Hampton unavailable, it will be interesting to see who the Lionesses' coach Sarina Wiegman selects in goal. This information and additional developments are incoming before the opening whistle at 5.30pm GMT.
Team News
The team news is in. Anna Moorhouse is the starting keeper 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 provide the update.
Skipper News
Keira Walsh is leading the Lionesses with Leah Williamson still unfit. She shared these thoughts before this match:
Walsh steps up as England meet fresh challenge in battle of continental titleholders.
Debut Alert
The upcoming fixture will be Anna Moorhouse's debut for England. She featured in the Euros team who claimed victory this past summer, but she remained on the bench with Hannah Hampton in the first-choice keeper position.
Previous Match Recap
The opening match of the final of the Women’s Nations League occurred yesterday; catch up with all of the highlights:
Women’s Nations League: Spain’s Cata Coll denies Germany to keep final in the balance.
Live Feed
Real-time coverage from the match will proceed with key events and current information as the match proceeds.
