The Lionesses v the Chinese team – Female Friendly Match
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the friendly match between England and the Chinese squad at Wembley Stadium. This promises to be an exciting contest with the reigning European champions facing the current Asian Cup champions.
The iconic Wembley is fully booked for the match, which will see Fran Kirby honored pre-match after her departure from the England squad before the European Championship this past summer.
The team news will be revealed soon, but there was a recent squad update for England. On Friday, Khiara Keating withdrew from the squad with a minor injury, and so previous starter Ellie Roebuck has been added to the squad.
With Hannah Hampton unavailable, it will be notable to find out who the Lionesses' coach Sarina Wiegman selects in goal. This information and additional developments are coming up before the opening whistle at 5.30pm GMT.
Team News
The lineups have been announced. Anna Moorhouse is the starting keeper 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.
Substitutes: Hings, Baggaley, Kendall, Wubben-Moy, Beever-Jones, Kelly, Kearns, Park, Blindkilde Brown, Roebuck, Clinton, Denton, Fisk, Godfrey.
Details are being sought for the squad from China now; when it comes through, I will provide the update.
Leadership Role
Keira Walsh is captaining the Lionesses with Leah Williamson still injured. These were her comments before this match:
Walsh steps up as England meet fresh challenge in battle of continental titleholders.
Debut Alert
Tonight’s game will be Anna Moorhouse's maiden cap for England. She belonged to the European Championship squad who triumphed this past summer, but she did not feature with Hannah Hampton in the starting goalkeeper role.
Recent Action
The opening match of the Women’s Nations League title decider took place yesterday; review all of the highlights:
Women’s Nations League: Spain’s Cata Coll stops Germany, leaving final outcome open.
Real-Time Coverage
Real-time coverage from the fixture will continue with important moments and latest developments as the match proceeds.
