1 year ago
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13 mins: Russo breaks down the right and looks to charge in the box but is pushed over before she can get there. Greenwood comes up to put it into a dangerous position in the six-yard box but a yellow shirt flicks it away.
10 mins: Quite a slow tempo at the moment with England controlling possession. All a touch sedate with Brazil playing very defensively.
8 mins: The Brazil nerves continue as Rafaelle turns the ball out for a corner while under a bit of pressure. The set-piece comes to nothing as Russo heads well wide. It is all England.
6 mins: Brazil try to start an attack but whack a pass needlessly out of play. They look quite nervous. It is a big occasion for everyone tonight in font of a packed Wembley.
Russo chases a ball over the top and is bundled over in the box. She wants a penalty but it turns out she is offside and gets nothing.
4 mins: England have had all the ball in the opening stages. They look like they could dominate.
2 mins: A promising start for England as Hemp rampages down the left and gets a cross in it but is blocked and Brazil manage to clear.
Kick off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
There will be a moment of remembrance for Pele.
The Brazilian national anthem is a jazzy number. Always an uplifting tune.
Here come the teams!
I do hope we’ve all switched from ITV4 to ITV1 and are therefore not watching classic horse races.
England’s new kit comes with a change of short colour.
There is no Millie Bright tonight. The Chelsea centre-back suffered an injury in the Champions League against Lyon and has been unavailable since, despite Emma Hayes she was close to featuring in the past two games. It means Williamson will be paired at the back with Greenwood, who has been in fine form with Manchester City.
ITV pundit, the Guardian’s very own, Karen Carney on Lauren James.
Sarina Wiegman speaks …
On Russo as No 9: “For tonight she is [first choice] but we haven’t made final decisions, there are three and a half months to go until the World Cup.”
On James: “She is really improving and getting fitter and fitter. She needs to get to the next stage.”
On the Finalissima: “We’ve already had so many special moments and this is another one against a great opponent. We need to cherish the moment.”
A new kit and badge for England.
Pre-match reading …
Starting lineups
England (4-3-3): Earps; Bronze, Williamson, Greenwood, Carter; Walsh, Stanway, Toone; James, Russo, Hemp
Subs: Le Tissier, Roebuck, Morgan, Charles, Nobbs, Kelly, Coombs, Daly, Park, Hampton, Robinson
Brazil (4-4-2): Leticia; Antonia, Kathellen, Lauren, Rafaelle; Tamires, Luana, Ary, Kerolin; Zaneratto, Geyse
Subs: Camila, Luciana, Duda, A Vitoria, Andressa Alves, Duda Santos, Adriana, Tarciane, Yasmim, Fernanda, Gabi Nunes, G. Portilho
The Finalissima
It’s here! It is the first time the concept of the European champions have faced their South American counterparts in this one-off match. It could be described as a glorified friendly but 90,000 people at Wembley would disagree. It is exciting to see the best players from two continents face off, especially in a World Cup year.
England are unbeaten in 29 matches since Sarina Wiegman took over. Tonight will be one of the biggest tests they have faced in that time and they will be desperate to maintain their record against one of the world’s finest side. Wiegman has a few spots still to fill going into the World Cup and this would be a good time for those fighting it out to start to make their mark. This is England’s penultimate match before the tournament starts for them on 22 July against Haiti, so the heat is on.
Brazil are missing a few key players through injury, which is a shame but they will be putting out a very strong side out. The squad in England is relatively inexperienced and will be using the evening in London as a learning curve regarding the quality they will face at the World Cup.
Here’s to a cracker!
Kick-off: 7.45pm BST
English (US)