Well, what a match! Thank you for joining me for England’s Arnold Clark Cup opener.
Millie Bright’s stunner may have put England a nose ahead but Janine Beckie made sure they didn’t hold their lead with an equally beautiful goal.
England are back in action on Sunday against Spain with Canada playing Germany the same day.
But if you would like to re-visit all the action from tonight’s match, read Louise Taylor’s report here.
England manager Sarina Wiegman said to ITV: “I think this is the competitive match we needed. We played very good first half but I thought we were sometimes a little sloppy. We created a lot of chances and we need to be more ruthless.
“It’s good to see how we reacted [to Beckie’s goal]. We lost too many balls in the second half.
“We need to be more tight and stay together. Bright and Hemp did well, I’m impressed.”
Canada’s Bev Priestman displayed her skilful managing as her half-time talk and subsequent subs changed the game.
She also selected the correct captain in Fleming who pulled all the strings for the team. The skipper, Bechanan and Beckie were all impeccable for the visitors and they’ve continued their golden form.
They will be a menace for Germany and Spain later in this tournament.
Millie Bright has started every game under Wiegman and it’s clear to see why. She has been playing well for Chelsea but it’s the threat she has all over the pitch.
Not only is she able to halt attack but she can produce unbelievable goals.
It’s an exciting future for England!
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Player of the Match Millie Bright tells ITV: “I think you can see the improvements as a squad. The first half we were excellent, the second half we were sloppy. We’re happy with the point.
“I want to be more a threat on set pieces. I’m happy I could help the team.
“Our mentality is the same for every game. We are excited to play top teams.”
That draw and Spain and Germany’s 1-1 match earlier means after the first round, all four teams are on equal points.
At least it wasn’t a late equaliser for England as it was for Spain! That’s a consolation right, Lionesses supporters?
Full-time: England 1-1 Canada
It was the last chance and neither side can find a winner.
This was a game of two halves with England playing one of the best halves of football I’ve seen them execute. Bright’s brilliant strike and amazing performances from Hemp and Williamson saw them in complete control before the break.
However, Canada came out firing in the second half with a sublime hit from Beckie to level the scores.
They fought until the end but it wasn’t to be.
90 + 4 min: Walsh feeds Parris who is brought down in the box again but no penalty given.
In the dying moments of this one now, was that their last chance?
90 + 3 min: Kirby was in a great position but her pass went straight back to Canada.
Stanway managed to get herself back in a scoring position, Sheridan collects well.
Then Canada look to score but Bright manages to clear. Jeez, the teams are doing everything to get the winner!
90 min: Four minutes added here.
England still fighting for a late winner but Canada’s defence holds on after Stanway looked to strike.
88 min: England pushing for a late winner with Bronze doing all she can down the right side.
Canada manage to clear but the hosts get it back once again.
But a horror pass from Stanway sees the build-up go to nothing.
Player of the Match goes to Bright.
YELLOW CARD: England 1-1 Canada (Buchanan, 85')
86 min: One of the only mistakes from Buchanan sees her get a yellow for a foul on White.
I don’t know who will be Player of the Match but I would hand it to Fleming.
England have had some bright stars, Bright and Hemp to name a few, but Fleming has pulled all the strings for Canada.
The game mainly being played in the midfield with possession exchanging hands.
84 min: Bronze passes to Parris who is taken down in the box. Calls for a penalty but it isn’t given.
The ball bounces back out for Walsh but Sheridan catches the shot.
Brighter from England, more of that please and thank you.
82 min: Chants of ‘England’ ring around the stadium but it’s Canada who continue their stranglehold of this second half.
England are being pegged back to their own half and when they do get out of it aren’t clinical enough.
Hopefully, this is commentator’s curse!
80 min: Buchanan, take a bow. Walsh crossed a perfect ball to White but the defender quashes the threat.
Then Canada have a great counter as Fleming plays a sublime pass to Prince, whose shot is collected by Earps.
Mead catches Quinn in the midfield and the Arsenal star gifts possession away.
Rose comes off for Pickett.
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78 min: It’s worth mentioning here what a great game Sheridan has had.
Yes she has conceded a goal and some of her touches haven’t been perfect but she is stepping into the shoes of Stephanie Labbe, who retired earlier this year.
Canada almost had a second there from an England error, I believe a Mead mistake, but they can’t quite execute it.
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76 min: Gilles swoops in to halt Kirby, the defence for Canada immense at the moment.
Russo comes off for White, can she score the winner for England?
It’s definitely her chance to prove why she should start England’s next match.
74 min: Lawrence, who has really grown into this game, creates yet another opportunity but it sails over the heads of her teammates in the box.
England predominantly playing in their own half with Canada’s defence shutting off any route out.
Bronze is certainly highlighting why she is integral to the team as she tries to cause trouble for Rose.
72 min: Into the 20 minutes here and England are attempting to regain the slick skill they had in the first half.
Bronze did really well to keep the ball in as Lawrence looked to force her to give a goal kick away.
Mead got a shot away from a long way out and she wasn’t too far away!
69 min: Carter looked as though she barged Scott but it wasn’t picked up by the ref, strange as the Canadian was looking to cross.
A couple of throw ins from Beckie compacts on the dominance Canada are having in the second 45.
Can anyone find a winner here?
67 min: A mix up at the back for Canada opens the goal up for England but no player can get on it.
The fresh legs keen to make their mark on the game which hangs in the balance. Parris got a clean cross in but Sheridan collects it well.
65 min: Riviere has stayed on the ground after being challenged with the whistle not blown for several minutes.
The ball eventually goes off and England make their changes.
Daly, Williamson, Greenwood, Hemp off.
Bronze, Parris, Carter, Mead on.
Captaincy goes to Bright.
Riviere is coming off with injury and she is replaced by Lacasse.
63 min: Fleming hits a great ball to Rose who makes a phenomenal run.
Eventually, Bright stops the attack but concedes a corner. Beckie took the kick with Bright again coming to the rescue.
England tried to counter but this time it’s nipped in the bed.
Some England mistakes coming into the game now. The Canadian counter came from a loose Hemp pass. Hosts set to make FOUR changes!
61 min: There’s so much happening it’s difficult for me to keep up!
Quinn has had a few great touches, being the link to thread their plays together. Canada are starting to get a hold of this game and England need to be careful not to let it slip.
59 min: Canada has come to life!
They smell blood after the sublime Beckie score as they press high.
But England aren’t feeling sorry for themselves. Walsh gets the ball in the midfield and slices the ball to Hemp. She thumps the ball at Sheridan who saves well as she concedes a corner.
The set-piece goes to nothing with Bright eventually hits it out but it’s dangerous again from England.
Canada make their first changes as Prince and Quinn come on.
England lose the ball easily in the midfield through Daly and Canada get the ball to Beckie.
She struck it perfectly outside the box to beat Mary Earps in goal. That is the first goal England have conceded under Wiegman.
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GOAL! England 1-1 Canada (Beckie, 55')
What a strike!
54 min: I held my breath as Fleming put a cross in. She thought it would find Beckie but it didn’t reach her teammate and went out of play.
The 23-year-old having a great first run out as captain so far, despite the scoreline.
52 min: England were patient in trying to build attack but as Bright tried to feed Hemp, Scott intercepted in a great defensive move.
Hemp goes like a rocket as she is given the ball and Daly then sends it into the box. Buchanan, AGAIN, manages to quell the danger. What an asset the defender is to her team.
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50 min: Sheridan was under pressure and she thumps the ball out of play.
England are forced back to halfway and Russo is easily dispossessed. The Manchester United star hasn’t found the form she is enjoying at club in this match.
Canada tried to set up an attack but it ends in a goal kick.
YELLOW CARD! England 1-0 Canada (Lawrence, 47')
Lawrence fouls Kirby once again and this time she sees yellow.
A free kick sees England build from deep.
47 min: Lawrence fouled Kirby straight off the bat to gift a free kick to England. Luckily for Canada it was on the halfway line and they manage to wrestle the ball back.
They were struggling to string things together but this half they are putting it together. Daly, though, does enough to claw it back.
We are back underway, can England see out this game?
The pundits were discussing at half-time the impact of Russo. For me, so far, she hasn’t been as involved as White may have been.
But it’s Georgia Stanway who is the first change with Ella Toone off.
Do you have any thoughts so far? Email or tweet me!
Pictures of the half:
Half-time: England 1-0 Canada
Well what a half of football for England. Would Lionesses fans think their team could produce this quality just a year ago after the poor form following the World Cup?
Hemp has caused a host of headaches for Canada but it was defender Bright who broke the deadlock.
Williamson and Hemp came close to adding a second. England are in complete control and it’s hard to see them losing this.
45 min: How, oh how, haven’t England doubled their lead?
Williamson has a beautiful run to pass a pin point cross to Hemp. The Manchester City star just can’t quite finish off the move.
43 min: A beautiful set of passes threads the ball throughout the England team and it ends in a foul on Kirby from Lawrence. The frustration from Canada seeping into the match.
Hemp has danced into the box again and it’s Buchanan who manages to dispossess her. Buchanan has been stunning in defence so far.
41 min: Apologies for the lack of Canadian mentions but it really reflects how this game has gone.
Fleming, though, created a chance but Bright did enough to get possession back.
Toone then lost the ball to set up a Canada attack led by Lawrence. But alas England once again get back in control.
39 min: Hemp fully commits to every chance. The pressure she is putting on the Canadian defence is splitting the players and making them frantic whenever she has possession.
Hemp played Stokes in the midfield who spotted Russo in front of goal. She outstretched her leg but it squeaks by without a touch.
The Manchester United star almost with a goal a few times so far!
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37 min: Rose crossed into the box but it found Daly who couldn’t get it away cleanly.
Riviere did excellently well to wrestle a cross away from Hemp. Fortunately for England, Bright gets to it first in the box.
The Chelsea star hasn’t put a foot wrong so far.
35 min: England retained possession between their back four but then cheaply gave it away.
Lawrence passed to Rose but Daly again clears in a calmly. Canada just can’t string significant passes together.
But England can as Russo gets a chance away with Kirby hitting the rebound but it’s blocked by, you guessed it, Buchanan.
32 min: Daly committed to clear the ball and she looks in pain.
Scott was late to the ball there. Daly is back to her feet.
Something isn’t quite clicking for Canada so far. The team cohesion we saw at the Olympics isn’t flowing as nicely. Fleming and Buchanan their stand out players so far.
30 min: Stokes did very well to retain possession as she was crowded by opposition players.
But now an England pass goes rogue and Rose is off! She runs the ball to the outside of the box and Bright does enough to shunt it backwards.
Canada still in possession.
28 min: England are smothering Canada, forcing them back to their keeper from the halfway line.
Kirby sends the ball through to Russo but her pass to Toone is loose.
It’s all England and it’s a performance dreams are made of at the moment.
26 min: Sheridan almost didn’t try to stop the chance from Russo but it’s a good job she did as it was on target.
Canada are attempting to settle this game and their shock after England’s opener but the hosts aren’t taking their foot off the gas.
24 min: It’s all England right now as Hemp creates another chance.
Buchanan had to thump the ball into the stands to concede another corner. Kirby sent it in with the ball pin balling around for at least a minute.
Canada’s defence, somehow, holds on.
Bright runs away with a heart symbol raised.
What a strike from the Chelsea defender. A Bright start for her, excuse the pun! She got a head to a previous set-piece, cleared a ball up the other end and has now scored a huge goal.
The perfect start.
GOAL! England 1-0 Canada (Bright, 22')
A short corner from Kirby sees a jumping Bright smashes it home with her right foot!
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22 min: Lawrence puts Russo on the floor and it’s a free kick for England.
Kirby, who is on all the set-piece duty this evening it seems, sent the ball rocketing into the box.
Bright almost got a head to it but Canada swarm the Chelsea defender.
Canada concede a corner, nothing comes of the first but they concede another ...
20 min: The pace of this game is so fast, it’s crazy to think 20 minutes have past!
Again England look deadly but Fleming quells the danger. The Lionesses are great at creating chances and putting their opposition under pressure.
It’s the final passes that aren’t quite coming off. Luckily for the hosts, the same can be said for their opposition.
18 min: Canada were awarded a free kick for a foul and the ball is left by Bright for Daly to deal with.
She clears well and England wallop the ball upfield.
Canada attempting to piece together some possession but England are all over them at the moment.
16 min: Sheridan didn’t put enough on a pass in the final third and Hemp pounces.
The ball is clinically passed until it lands at the feet of Williamson. She shoots from outside the box but the chance goes wide.
My heart went in my mouth then, I thought it was going in. What a screamer that would have been!
14 min: Canada are getting a foot into this match now with England on the defensive in the last few minutes.
But it’s Hemp who propels the hosts into attack. The star’s pass has too much power and it goes away from Russo.
Then Canada make an error in the midfield to gift the ball to England but Russo is offside.
England need to capitalise on these opportunities while they have them.
12 min: Riviere is there again for Canada, who passes to Beckie. The Manchester City star wins Canada their first corner of the match.
Beckie took the set-piece with Buchanan getting a head to the chance. England scramble but Bright does well to whack it away from danger.
10 min: Walsh cheaply gave away the ball in the midfield but her defenders did enough to wrestle possession back.
The only significant mistake from England so far after a thoroughly bright start.
Here come Canada as Riviere looked to be off on a sprint there but she is ruled offside.
8 min: Canada’s players are wearing black armbands in honour of Christine Sinclair’s mother.
The all-time international scorer didn’t travel to England as her mother passed away.
A lovely gesture from the team.
Back to the action, Canada are building into this after early chances from England.
6 min: Hemp creates another opportunity by winning a corner. Kirby took the kick but again the visitors do enough to repel the attack.
It’s now Canada’s time to strike but England’s defence looks just as strong!
4 min: Daly popped the ball to captain Williamson but her pass has too much on it to find Russo.
It’s a promising start for the women in white.
Now that is delightful from Hemp, how does she read the play so well? She manoeuvres and sprints for Buchanan to force a corner.
The kick goes in but Canada clear away.
2 min: England snuff out an early attack from Canada and retain possession in the midfield.
It’s early days and the Lionesses are finding their feet here.
Kick-off!
England v Canada is now underway!
Who’s your predicted winner?
The players have come out to rapturous applause, what an atmosphere!
The anthems ring out, moments away from the game now!
Daniel has got in touch on Twitter about team selection, good to hear from you!
He said: “I‘d love to see Ashleigh Neville called up to the England squad. She improves season after season and has Spurs outstanding player this season.
“ I can see why Wiegman has gone with Rachel Daly, one of the most competitive players out there. A nice selection problem for Weigman to have, Daly or Bronze?”
A great point Daniel, not a bad problem to have is it?
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Canada’s manager Bev Priestman has spoken on the match this evening to ITV: “It’s going to be a great atmosphere.
“We are back to work now in the start of a new journey. An unbelievable experience [the Olympics].
“Fleming leads from example. She is very humble, hardworking. The hardest worker in the team.
“I felt she was ready.”
Now the traditional weather chat is dealt with we can turn our attention to another talking point - the Euros.
This is one of the last chances England stars have to impress coaches to get a foot in that squad for this summer.
It’s such a crucial tournament for the less experienced players to prove themselves. The battle up front is one I’m particularly looking forward to. The front three look deadly today but Ellen White will most likely have a spot this summer.
Who would you like to see at the Euros? Let me know on Twitter or email, I’d love to hear your thoughts. And not just on the Euros, any points - send them my way!
Canada may not have the best weather and the visitors may not have expected beach sun by playing in England but I doubt they thought they’d be competing in a full on storm!
The Middlesbrough stadium is anticipating a crowd of 10,000 and I bow to them. I hope they have wrapped up in enough layers, Storm Eunice isn’t playing around!
England and Canada have played each other 14 times with each team claiming seven wins.
But what is the recent history between the teams like?
Of course some England players will remember Team GB’s 1-1 draw against eventual Tokyo 2020 winners Canada in the summer.
However, the last time England played Canada the Lionesses suffered defeat in a 2-0 loss in April 2021.
Can England get one back over their friendly rivals? Time will tell.
How does the Arnold Clark Cup work? It is a new competition after all so we’ll go through how it will play out.
Each of the four teams - England, Canada, Spain and Germany - will play each other once each over the next week. Whoever wins the most points wins the tournament.
Sounds easy enough but with these giants of women’s football, there will be battles in store.
And speak of the devil, England manager Sarina Wiegman has spoken about that team selection to ITV: “Rachel [Daly] has done a great job in that position too, we can play many players over the next week.
“Ellen [White] hasn’t played that much from January to now, she had her first 90 minutes last weekend. Ellen is our number one striker and Alessia [Russo] is up and coming.
“We have three very good goalkeepers in our squad. Mary has done a good job.”
An interesting point is this is the first game Lucy Bronze has been available to Wiegman as the defender was injured and the star starts from the bench.
To me, it seems a slight change of the guard. Not only is Bronze named as a sub but so too is all-time Lionesses scorer Ellen White with breakthrough star Alessia Russo in the starting shirt.
Although, Wiegman may have just got a feel for the team she wants to play now she has settled into the role. The pre-match interviews will be ones to watch for sure.
Confirmed line-ups
So who have the teams decided to start?
The starting England 11 is as follows: Earps, Daly, Stokes, Walsh, Greenwood, Bright, Kirby, Williamson, Toone, Hemp, Russo.
Substitutes: White, Bronze, Hampton, Stanway, Carter, Mead, Parris, Nobbs, Charles, Scott, Roebuck, Zelem
Canada’s Bev Priestman has named: Fleming, Sheridan, Buchanan, Rose, Grosso, Riviere, Huitema, Lawrence, Scott, Beckie, Gilles.
Substitutes: Chapman, Zadorsky, Quinn, Carle, Prince, Boychuk, D’Angelo, Alidou, Lacasse, Yekka, Pickett.
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Team news
England are without regular captain Steph Houghton as the Manchester City defender is out with injury. This has created further opportunity for Arsenal star Leah Williamson, who also captained the team in the autumn. She has been named skipper for this week, manager Wiegman hasn’t put forward a captain for the entire tournament.
The Lionesses are also without Arsenal’s Lotte Wubben-Moy who remains at her club rehabbing an injury.
Meanwhile for Canada, Jessie Fleming will captain the side with Christine Sinclair not travelling to England after the passing of her mother.
The team haven’t reported any injuries.
Starting XI’s to be announced shortly...
Preamble
England will kick-off their Arnold Clark Cup campaign this evening in a hotly anticipated match against Olympic gold medallists Canada.
The ACC is a new competition and replaces England’s attendance at the SheBelieves Cup. Alongside the Lionesses and Canada, Germany and Spain will take part.
The latter two teams competed in the opening match earlier today where Spain drew with Germany 1-1. It was the first time Spain conceded a goal since March 2020. They recorded 16 clean sheets in a row! Relinquishing the record will be even more agonising for the team as the equaliser was scored in the 88th minute.
The result means if one of the teams this evening can bag a win they will head straight to the top of the table. England’s manager Sarina Wiegman will be hungry for the win as she is yet to lose a match in charge of the Lionesses.
Hopefully that intro has wet the appetite for the mammoth match we will be treated to but if not this team news surely will...
