Women's Senior
Women's Senior

England Women will take on USA, Germany and France in the SheBelieves Cup

Wednesday 11 Jan 2017
England will take on USA at the Red Bull Arena

England Women will play France in their opening fixture of the SheBelieves Cup in March.

The Lionesses will travel to the US to take part in the annual tournament, now in its second year.

They will face Les Bleues at the Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday 1 March (9pm GMT KO).

Mark Sampson’s side will then travel to New Jersey where they will face the tournament hosts, ranked the best team in the world by FIFA, at the Red Bull Arena on Saturday 4 March (10pm GMT KO).

England will then play European champions Germany, in their final game of the tournament, at the RFK Stadium in Washington on Tuesday 7 March (9pm GMT KO).

The matches form part of England’s preparation for this summer’s Euros, which take place in Netherlands.

England took part in the inaugural SheBelieves Cup last year, narrowly losing to USA after a 20-yard strike from new Chelsea recruit Crystal Dunn.

They lost 2-1 to Germany in their second game, after taking the lead through a Toni Duggan goal and they then drew 0-0 with France in a tight final match.

Sampson said: "The SheBelieves Cup is a key opportunity for us to continue our learning on what it takes to win against the best teams in the world in tournament conditions.

“We are grateful to US Soccer for the invitation and look forward to contributing to what promises to be a great event for women's football."

Lionesses captain Steph Houghton said: “The SheBelieves Cup was a great tournament to play in last year with big crowds and tough opposition.

“It’s important we test ourselves against the best teams and players in the world and we’ll certainly do so there.

“I know we can compete with these teams, we’ve developed a lot in the last few years and hopefully will continue to do so ahead of the Euros.”

England will open their Euro 2017 campaign against Scotland in Utrecht on Wednesday 19 July.

They will then face Spain in Breda on Sunday 23 July and Portugal in Tilburg on Thursday 27 July.

Schedule

Wednesday 1 March (9pm GMT)

England v France
Talen Energy Stadium, Chester, PA

Saturday 4 March (10pm GMT)

USA v England
Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey

Tuesday 7 March (9pm GMT)

Germany v England
RFK Stadium, Washington D.C.

By FA Staff