ENGLAND are just a month away from beginning their bid to win the Women’s World Cup with the contest kicking off on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
A warm-up duel with Portugal on July 1 will be their final fixture on home soil before their tournament opener against Haiti 21 days later.
Their clash with Portugal will be followed by a behind-closed-doors match against Canada on July 14.
This year’s World Cup will kick-off with a tournament opener between Norway and contest co-hosts New Zealand.
A triumphant run would mark a huge milestone for the Lionesses.
It would see the Euros champs become the first senior England side to win two major football tournaments back-to-back.
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Their rivals for the sport’s biggest prize includes four-time contest winners the United States.
The team are eyeing a World Cup three-peat having won the last two tournaments.
Another major foe will be Germany who have been victorious in five of their last eight fixtures.
Results include a 2-1 friendly win against the USA last November.
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Other favourites include France, Sweden, Spain, Canada and contest co-hosts Australia who ended England’s 30-game unbeaten run in April.
While the build-up to last summer’s Euros went smoothly, the run-up to this year’s World Cup has not been entirely plain sailing.
A club-vs-country row over the release of players for the June 19 start of their training camp threatened to disrupt their warm-up arrangements.
The team are also without the services of Fran Kirby, skipper Leah Williamson and Euros Golden Boot winner Beth Mead.
All three are currently sidelined with knee injuries.
But the squad have been boosted with Millie Bright on course to be tournament ready.
How to watch England’s group stage fixtures
BBC and ITV are set to share TV coverage of all 64 World Cup games including England’s clashes with their group D rivals Haiti, Denmark and China.
The Lionesses’ will face Haiti on July 22 at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia with the game kicking off at 10:30 UK time.
This will be followed by a July 28 clash with Denmark at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
They will then play China on August 1 at the Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide.
Wiegman’s squad
The Lionesses 23-strong squad includes six aces playing at their first major tournament including Chelsea forward Lauren James
Esme Morgan, Niamh Charles, Katie Zelem, Laura Coombs and Katie Robinson make up England’s other major contest debutants.
With Mead and Kirby absent Wiegman’s side will be without two of their biggest hitters in attack.
Last year’s Euros saw the duo notch up eight goals and seven assists combined in often used 4-2-3-1 formation
Rachel Daly, Alessia Russo and Bethany England will among the stars Wiegman is likely to turn to for firepower in the number nine role.
The trio were among the WSL’s top five scorers last term with Daly bagging 22 goals in 22 games and England notching 14 in 20 appearances.
In midfield Wiegman is likely to turn to Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh who started every game for the Lionesses during the Euros.
Both have impressed winning silverware during their debut seasons at Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
In defence Bright has started in almost every game under Wiegman when fit.
The centre-back is hoping to be match ready for the World Cup following a surgical procedure on a knee injury sustained in March.
Bright, who will captain the Lionesses, is likely to be partnered by Alex Greenwood in central defence.
Bronze and Jess Carter are like to start at full-back with Mary Earps in goal following a season that saw her keep 14 clean sheets in 22 WSL games.
England’s warm-up duel with Portugal could see Wiegman experiment and test out back-up plans in defence.
Fans may see Esme Morgan and Lotte Wubben-Moy given run outs as well as Chelsea’s Niamh Charles.
England’s record under Wiegman
Under Wiegman England have notched up some memorable wins against heavyweights such as Germany, Spain and Sweden.
They raced to a 30-game unbeaten streak conceding just twice in six games at the Euros.
And they triumphed in the first Women’s Finalissima beating Brazil via a penalty shootout in March.
However their winning run ended in April when they fell to a 2-0 friendly loss to World Cup co-hosts Australia.
They will be eager to return to winning ways when they take on Portugal at Stadium MK on Saturday 1.
Ticket sales
The number of tickets flogged so far for this year’s showpiece has eclipsed the amount sold for the 2019 tournament in France.
According to Fifa more than a million have been shifted with a month to go before the contest’s opening clash between Norway and co-hosts New Zealand.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
