England will face Austria and Italy in two friendlies during a warm weather training camp in Spain in February, taking the place of the cancelled Arnold Clark Cup on the international calendar.
It was confirmed in December that the 2024 edition of the invitational tournament that England have hosted – and won twice – since 2022, wouldn’t be going ahead due to a clash with the inaugural UEFA Nations League finals, which the Lionesses fell just short of qualifying for.
Instead, games against Austria and Italy have been arranged to fill the gap and they will become England’s first opponents of 2024. Qualifiers for the 2025 European Championship then start taking place from April until the autumn.
Both games will be held at Estadio Nuevo Mirador in Algeciras in the south of Spain. England face Austria on Friday 23 February (7.45pm GMT), broadcast live on ITV1,, before the Italy game on Tuesday 27 February (5pm GMT), broadcast live on ITV4.
Of the two opponents, manager Sarina Wiegman said: “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 different opponents who will want to start the year strong too, so it will be important to come together again as a team and use these games to prepare for the qualification matches starting 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 proud of our pathway and how our development teams are progressing
and I’m really pleased that Emma’s WU23’s squad can travel with us to Spain,” Wiegman added.
“It’s not something I have had the opportunity to do during my time here with England
and it will bring many opportunities to collaborate together.”
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