Photo: CNN
England vs Brazil – the lowdown.
The back-to-back European Champions vs the five consecutive Copa America Winners. A clash for the ages awaits in Manchester this October. The Etihad Stadium is the stage this time, as the Lionesses take on Brazil in their homecoming match since emerging victorious in Switzerland just under three months ago.
Head to Head:
This friendly fixture between the two marks only the fifth meeting between the pair. The first came in 2018, in which an in-form Fran Kirby netted the winner as England ran out 1-0 winners on the day.
The countries would lock horns again just over a year later, this time in the SheBelieves Cup, which the Lionesses again took the plaudits for, winning 2-1 before going on to win the competition itself. Following the conclusion of the 2019 World Cup in France, Brazil would have their revenge. The Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough played host in October 2019 as Debinha scored twice, before Bethany England’s 80th-minute goal tried to start a late comeback, but to no avail, as Brazil secured their only win over the Lionesses to date.
The most recent meeting between the two sides was the inaugural UEFA Women’s Finalissima on the 6th of April 2023 at Wembley Stadium. England, who led for the majority of the game, were pinned back at Wembley by a late equaliser from Andressa Alves, which sent the game to penalties.
The Lionesses came out on top. Winning 4-2 on penalties, they secured the first-ever Women’s Finalissima trophy, this time recording the only draw between the two countries in regular time as the game finished 1-1.
Squads:
Both Sarina Wiegman and Arthur Elias have had several injuries to contend with when picking their squads for this clash. England are without captain Leah Williamson, who is still recovering from a knee procedure after sustaining an injury in the Euro final in July. Brazil, on the other hand, are without star winger Kerolin, who is currently out with a lower body injury.
However, even with announced squads, there have been injury concerns, meaning that both sides have had to adapt. Katie Reid of Arsenal received her first senior call-up at just 19 but unfortunately withdrew due to injury, and Grace Fisk of Liverpool has been called up to replace her. Manchester City midfielder Grace Clinton also had to withdraw this week, allowing her to recover from a small knock, and the final withdrawal for the Lionesses is Jess Park, who suffered from delayed concussion symptoms, meaning Jess Naz has received the call-up to camp this autumn.
Brazil, already without Kerolin, have lost another one of their attacking threats in Gio Garbelini. Garbelini was meant to link up with the Brazil squad, but during Atletico Madrid’s UWCL fixture with Manchester United, she suffered a nasty fracture following a sliding tackle, requiring surgery. Ruling her out for the next few months.
The Venue and How to Watch
The game is being hosted at The City of Manchester Stadium (known as The Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons) this Saturday, October 25th. This is only the second EVER women’s international involving England to be hosted at the stadium. The last fixture was England vs Finland during Euro 2005, where a young teenage Karen Carney scored the winner in a 3-2 victory. The game kicks off at 5:30 PM and is being broadcast on ITV.