08 June 2023 , 15:54
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England are set to face Olympic gold medallists Canada in a warm-up friendly behind closed doors just eight days before the FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in Australia and New Zealand.
The Lionesses will face the Canadians on July 14 on the Sunshine Coast, days before their World Cup opener against Haiti on July 22. Sarina Wiegman 's side are in Group D, along with Denmark and China.
Canada announced their preliminary squad for the World Cup on Thursday afternoon, also confirming the warm-up match against England. They are in Group B, alongside one of the hosting nations Australia, Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland.
Wiegman named her 23-player squad for the tournament at the end of last month, with Maya Le Tissier, Jess Park and Emily Ramsey the names on standby.
Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby all miss out through injury, but Wiegman still has huge belief in her squad to face the best of the best in Australia.
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When announcing the squad, she said: “I have huge belief in this squad and we’re very fortunate to be selecting a fantastic group of players to travel to Australia. We know we will face tough challenges from strong teams, and we will have to be competitive from the first match on 22 July.
"We will do everything to be at our very best again this summer. It is important the players get some well-deserved time to rest and recover over the next few weeks before we start the final preparations to get them ready.
However, there remains uncertainty over when England's training camp for the World Cup will commence.
The Lionesses were reportedly set to face Portugal in a separate warm-up match on July 1 on home soil in Milton Keynes, although it has been suggested that fixture is now in doubt. The Athletic claims players have been told if they do not join the camp on June 19, they will not feature against the European side.
When players report for international duty ahead of the tournament is an ongoing dispute among clubs and national sides and the report goes on to suggest there is concern if players do not report until June 23, they will not have time to prepare for the friendly on July 1 and will increase their risk of injury.