MY ACCOUNT
England bosses Sarina Wiegman and Gareth Southgate are relishing the opportunity to lock horns with Australia.
The Lionesses will welcome the Matildas to Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium on April 11, with Southgate’s Three Lions side tackling the Socceroos at Wembley on October 13.
Both matches are part of the FA’s two-year charity partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society, which was announced in August 2021.
And Wiegman, who will lead England Down Under at the Women’s World Cup this summer, cannot wait for what will be a busy period as her side also face Brazil in the Finalissima on April 6 — just five days before taking on the Aussies.
She said: “We are always looking for different challenges and are really happy to play two more strong non-European teams in Brazil and Australia in April.
“They will both be competitive at the World Cup and Australia will give everything to impress because they are going into a home tournament with big expectation.
“They will want to show they are in good shape for the finals.”
Thirteen of England’s Euro 2022 winners featured in Team GB’s 4-3 quarter-final defeat to Australia at the Tokyo Olympics in June 2021.
Wiegman, 53, added: “We know Australia have players at the highest level, so for us it is another opportunity to see where we stand in our preparation for the World Cup.
“It will also be very special to play them at Brentford as it was a great Euro 2022 stadium.
“We want to create more excitement for our fans as we prepare for what we hope will be another memorable summer.”
The Lionesses are next in action against Belgium in the Arnold Clark Cup on Wednesday night, having already beaten South Korea and Italy in the round-robin tournament.
The first Alzheimer’s Society International in March 2022 saw Southgate’s men secure a 2-1 win over Switzerland thanks to goals from Luke Shaw and Harry Kane.
England wore shirts without names on the back in the second half to highlight how people with dementia often experience memory loss.
They kick off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign away to Italy on March 23 before hosting Ukraine three days later.
Outside of 10 fixtures on the road to Germany this year, England will also face Scotland at Hampden Park on September 12 to mark the 150th anniversary of the first-ever meeting between the teams.
Commenting on the clash with the Socceroos, 52-year-old Southgate said: “This will be a good challenge for us as Australia performed well at the World Cup, despite against having four tough opponents.
“I imagine there will be a strong Aussie contingent in London for both [the men’s and women’s] games.
“We all know the sporting rivalry between our two countries and that alone will add an extra edge.”
The Three Lions have previously faced Australia on seven occasions — winning four times, drawing twice and losing once — but only two of those fixtures have been on home soil.
