There's less than three weeks to go until the Women's World Cup gets underway in Australia and New Zealand, and England are very much heading into the tournament as one of the favourites.
The Lionesses will have a target on their backs after going all the way at last year's Euros, with manager Sarina Wiegman having lost just one game since taking the reins from Hege Riise in September 2021. However, the Dutchwoman will take nothing for granted this summer and has spent the past two weeks overseeing a training camp at St George's Park to ensure her charges are in the best shape possible ahead of the trip down under.
Before flying out to Australia on July 5, the Lionesses will play a final warm up game on home soil, taking on fellow World Cup competitors Portugal. Francisco Neto's side finished bottom of their group at the Euros, picking up just a single point from their three games.
However, it was a cagey affair when the two sides last met in 2019, and the upcoming clash will allow both sets of players to get some crucial minutes under their belts ahead of a busy couple of months.
When is England Women vs Portugal?
England will take on Portugal at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes on Saturday, July 1, with kick-off at 3.15pm.
Portugal were the hosts when the teams last played each other in October 2019 in Setubal, when Beth Mead struck the only goal of the game for the visitors. England also met Portugal in the EURO 2017 group stage in the Netherlands - winninng 2-1 thanks to goals from Toni Duggan and Nikita Parris.
England last played at Stadium MK in the Arnold Clark Cup earlier this year, winning 4-0 against Korea Republic.
How to watch?
Tickets for this weekend's clash are sold out however the game will be broadcast live on ITV.
Fans can watch the Lionesses on ITV 1, where coverage begins at 2.30pm, or stream it on ITVX.
Why are England playing Portugal?
While Saturday's contest is only a friendly, it will offer both teams the chance to test themselves against a fellow World Cup nation ahead of this summer's tournament.
"I'm really pleased to have a competitive game for our last home fixture," England boss Wiegman said.
"We had two big games in April against Brazil and Australia where we learned so much. This will be another challenging match against a team that have performed well and are going to their first World Cup.
“Portugal will also want to show they can be a threat to teams in Australia, and they have very technical players with good ability. For us, it will be important to come together again as a team after the end of the club season and feel the support of our fans.
“We'll do our best to give them a good performance. It will only be three weeks until our opening World Cup game so it will be such an important moment in our preparation.”
