Key stats and facts ahead of England Women v Canada in the Arnold Clark Cup

England Lionesses kick-off their Arnold Clark Cup campaign on Thursday with a game against Olympic champions Canada and here Opta run through some of the teams’ key stats ahead of the clash.

England Women’s senior team and Canada last faced each other in April, when the visitors won 2-0 in Stoke.

Since then, Bev Priestman’s side won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and England have seen Sarina Wiegman arrive as head coach.

Here Opta run through some key statistics and facts ahead of their opening match in the Arnold Clark Cup at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium.

- Canada have lost their last four competitive meetings with England, with this their first in a tournament since the 2015 FIFA World Cup quarter-final, which England won 2-1 with goals from Jodie Taylor and Lucy Bronze.

- England Women’s senior team have only played at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium once previously, losing 2-1 in a friendly against Brazil in October 2019 under former manager Phil Neville.

- England have won their last six matches – the first six of Sarina Wiegman’s reign as head coach – scoring 53 goals and conceding none. The Lionesses last won seven in a row between April and July 2017.

- Canada have only lost one of their last 14 matches (W6 D7), a 2-1 friendly defeat to Mexico in November of last year. Their last defeat in a competitive match came back in February 2021 against Brazil in the SheBelieves Cup.

- England’s Beth Mead has been directly involved in 16 goals in six appearances under Sarina Wiegman so far (8 goals, 8 assists) and is averaging a goal or assist every 25 minutes in those six games. She scored three goals and assisted three more in the 20-0 win over Latvia last time out. 

- Ellen White became England Women’s all-time leading scorer in the Lionesses’ last game, with her hat-trick in the 20-0 win over Latvia taking her to 48 goals overall, two ahead of Kelly Smith on 46. She has scored 12 goals in her last nine matches for England.

- No Canada player was involved in more goals in all competitions during 2021 than Janine Beckie (2 goals, 3 assists). She also created 31 chances for her team-mates, 17 more than any other player during the year.