England will face Austria and Italy in two friendlies throughout a heat climate coaching camp in Spain in February, taking the place of the cancelled Arnold Clark Cup on the worldwide calendar.
It was confirmed in December that the 2024 version of the invitational event that England have hosted – and gained twice – since 2022, would not be going forward attributable to a conflict with the inaugural UEFA Nations League finals, which the Lionesses fell simply in need of qualifying for.
Instead, video games towards Austria and Italy have been organized to fill the hole and they’ll grow to be England’s first opponents of 2024. Qualifiers for the 2025 European Championship then begin going down from April till the autumn.
Both video games will probably be held at Estadio Nuevo Mirador in Algeciras within the south of Spain. England face Austria on Friday 23 February (7.45pm GMT), broadcast reside on ITV1,, earlier than the Italy sport on Tuesday 27 February (5pm GMT), broadcast reside on ITV4.
Of the 2 opponents, supervisor Sarina Wiegman stated: “This will be our kick-off to get ready for the EURO qualifying campaign beginning in April, so there’s no time to waste in February.
“They are two good and totally different opponents who will wish to begin the yr sturdy too, so will probably be essential to return collectively once more as a crew and use these video games to organize for the qualification matches beginning in April.”
The Lionesses won the Euro 2022 on home soil in extra-time in the final against Germany, eventually going 30 games unbeaten in the build-up to the 2023 World Cup where the Lionesses fell agonisingly short in the final, losing 1-0 to Spain.
2023 did not end the way Wiegman, who penned a new contract earlier this month to see her through until the 2027 World Cup, would have wanted, crashing out of the Nations League in the Group Stage, and therefore also forfeiting a chance to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
England have struggled against European teams in recent months. Losses to Belgium and the Netherlands early on meant they were playing catch-up in the Nations League and, despite a 3-2 victory over the Dutch and a 6-0 win over Scotland in December, exited the competition early.
The senior squad will be joined in Spain by Emma Coates’ Under-23s, who will play two fixtures, against Spain on Thursday 22 February (11am GMT) at the Marbella Football Centre, and the Netherlands on Monday 26 February (12pm GMT) at the Banus Football Centre.
“We are very pleased with our pathway and the way our growth groups are progressing
and I’m actually happy that Emma’s WU23’s squad can journey with us to Spain,” Wiegman added.
“It’s not one thing I’ve had the chance to do throughout my time right here with England
and it’ll deliver many alternatives to collaborate collectively.”
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