Key events
It’s been a great week for England Women’s football. The U23s won the European Competition title yesterday after they beat Sweden 3-0 in the final.
The Lionesses are warming up in special pre-match shirts to commemorate their 500th game. The shirt is available in black and white and features the Three Lions logo and number 500 inside of a Tudor rose pattern.
Team news
Iceland: Runarsdottir, Arnardottir, Viggosdottir, Sigurdardottir, Heidarsdottir, Hermannsdottir, Johannsdottir, Asgeirsdottir, Jonsdottir, Boama, Zomers
Subs: Ivarsodottir, Birkisdottir, Eiriksdottir, Jessen, Tryggvadottir, Vilhjalmsdottir, Georgsdottir, Eiriksdottir, Olafsdottir Gros, Antonsdottir, Palmadottir, Halldorsdottir
England: Hampton, Bronze, Greenwood, Walsh, Williamson, Morgan, James, Stanway, Russo, Blindkilde Brown, Hemp
Subs: Le Tissier, Moorhouse, Wubben-Moy, Carter, Hinds, Kelly, Kendall, Mead, Park, Roebuck, Charles, Parkinson
Preamble
Hello and welcome to minute-by-minute coverage of Iceland v England in the Women’s World Cup qualifier at the Laugardalsvöllur Stadium.
Today’s game is the Lionesses’ 500th of all time. In the build up to this one, the players have paid tribute to and heard from some of the pioneers who came before them. Lucy Bronze, who has 146 caps for England, said: “It’s crazy in two ways. On the one hand it’s only been 500, but at the same time – oh my God – it’s 500 games.” A win today would maintain a 100% record in Group A3 for Sarina Wiegman’s side as they push for automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup in Brazil.
Iceland need to put in a strong performance to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat against England six weeks ago. Their only win in the group came four days ago in the form of a 1-0 victory over Ukraine. Thorsteinn Halldórsson’s side will take heart from England’s previous struggles against similarly ranked teams such as Belgium and Portugal.
Kick off is at 5:30pm BST. Send me an email with your thoughts and keep refreshing the page for updates.
