Lionesses to play China PR at Wembley Stadium

UEFA EURO 2025 winners England will welcome China PR in November for a meeting of two reigning continental champions at Wembley Stadium connected by EE.

The Lionesses will use the match as vital preparation with the start of qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup on the horizon in February next year. It will give Sarina Wiegman’s squad the chance to test themselves against a side who will be defending their Asian Cup title in March 2026 in Australia.

The fixture has been set for Saturday 29 November (5.30pm GMT kick-off) and will complete a hat-trick of appearances at the national stadium this calendar year. EURO runners-up Spain were beaten 1-0 in February, before a 6-0 defeat of Portugal in May ahead of the memorable summer in Switzerland that concluded with Sunday night’s final triumph in Basel.

My England Football members will have the chance to purchase tickets between Friday 1 August and Sunday 3 August, before they go on general sale on Monday 4 August. Fans can access the My England Football priority window, by signing up here.

The fixture is the first to be announced in England’s autumn programme, with further details on the October window and a second November game to come. England last met China in August 2023 in the World Cup group stage, with the Lionesses earning a 6-1 victory in Adelaide on their way to finishing runners-up.

The Steel Roses, ranked 17th by FIFA, have achieved notable results this July including 2-2 and 0-0 draws against Korea Republic and Japan respectively, with the latter seventh in the world rankings.

Wiegman said: “After an incredible month and the celebrations this week, we are already planning ahead. It will be special to have a final visit to Wembley this year and something for us all to look forward to once the new season starts.

“Even though we have just finished the EURO, our World Cup qualifiers are not too far away. There are not many opportunities for us to play non-European opposition in the calendar, so I am happy we have been able to secure a top Asian side like China for this FIFA window.

“I’m sure China will give us a very different game to what we experienced in Australia.

"Whenever we face a squad where most of the players are based away from Europe or the United States, it is a new challenge. And with the start of the qualification campaign soon approaching, this will be valuable experience with the 2027 World Cup in mind.”

The end-of-year Wembley encounter will be the sixth meeting between China and England in all competitions. The Asian side have been beaten in just two of the previous meetings, to go with three wins and a draw. The other loss was a 2-1 defeat in Manchester in April 2015 on their only other trip to England.

The fixture will be broadcast on ITV.

Wiegman last came up against China coach Ante Milicic in June 2019 when she led the Netherlands to a 3-0 home win against his native Australia just before the World Cup in France. Milicic was appointed China coach in May and began his reign with a 3-0 defeat away by the United States in Saint Paul, Minnesota.