The Lionesses v the Chinese team – Women's Friendly International
Preamble
Welcome everyone to the friendly fixture between England and the Chinese squad at the iconic Wembley. The match is set to be a thriller with the current Euro titleholders competing against the holders of the Asian Cup title.
The home of English football is packed for the event, which will see the celebrated Fran Kirby celebrated pre-match after her departure from the England squad before the European Championship this past summer.
The team news will be announced shortly, but there was a late squad update for England. On Friday, Khiara Keating withdrew from the squad with a minor injury, and so previous starter Ellie Roebuck has been summoned.
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 on the way before kick-off at 5.30pm GMT.
Team News
The team news is in. Anna Moorhouse will be the goalkeeper for England in the absence of Hannah Hampton and Khiara Keating.
England: 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.
We are awaiting the squad from China now; once it is available, I will provide the update.
Leadership Role
Keira Walsh is serving as captain for the Lionesses with Leah Williamson still sidelined. Here’s what she had to say before this encounter:
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 was a part of the Euro-winning side who claimed victory this past summer, but she did not feature with Hannah Hampton in the first-choice keeper position.
Earlier Fixture Update
The first leg of the final of the Women’s Nations League occurred yesterday; get the details on all of the events:
Women’s Nations League: Spain’s Cata Coll denies Germany to keep final in the balance.
Real-Time Coverage
Real-time coverage from the match will be provided with important moments and current information as the match proceeds.