Two years on from England’s historic 2-1 victory over Germany in the Women’s Euro 2022 final, the sides meet again at Wembley on Friday night.
The tournament marked the first major trophy for the Lionesses, and the first for either England’s women or men since the latter’s World Cup victory in 1966.
This friendly will be the first game for Sarina Wiegman’s side since July, and the first step of the defence of the European title.
England manager Wiegman said: “Our preparations for the Euros start now.
“Securing our place at the tournament next summer, without the need to participate in the play-offs, gives us the maximum time to prepare for the challenge in Switzerland.”
This international break comes as more than 100 professional women’s players signed a letter to FIFA to end its sponsorship deal with the state-owned Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco earlier this week, due to concerns over human rights violations.
Aramco signed a four-year deal with FIFA in April to sponsor the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and the men’s tournament in 2026.
Georgia Stanway, a mainstay of the Lionesses squad, expressed her support for her colleagues but explained she is not up to date with the news.
Stanway said: “On a topic like this, we must stand for our beliefs. We must stand for women’s rights and continue to progress with that.”
Stanway, who plays her club football in Germany with Bayern Munich, later spoke about this friendly as the start of England’s title defence following two defeats against Belgium and the failure to qualify for the Olympics.
The game is friendly, but these two teams have a lot of history in both the women’s and men’s games. Can Germany pull one back against England at Wembley after their defeat in the Euros final at the same venue in 2022?
England will be without Lauren James, who withdrew from the squad due to a calf issue and will remain at Chelsea for observation, while Kathy Hendrich and Marla Grohs were not part of the Germany squad which travelled on Monday.
Alessia Russo was named England women’s player of the year for last season, but her start to 2024/25 has been less than desirable, with only scoring two goals in 11 matches.
Chloe Kelly, who scored the winning goal in the 2-1 victory two years ago, has struggled for game time at Manchester City this season.
She was an unused substitute in their 2-0 victory over European champions Barcelona.
Weigman has said that Kelly has “built credit” with England and deserved her call-up, especially amid massive competitions at City, especially after the summer signing of Vivianne Miedema.
Meanwhile, Karen Bardsley, ex-England goalkeeper, said: “I’d be surprised if Hannah Hampton does not start [in goal] ahead of Mary Earps in Friday’s friendly against Germany – but that won’t show that Wiegman has decided anything for next summer’s tournament.”
The friendly at Wembley will also see ex-England captain Steph Houghton honoured, after she retired from football at the end of last season.
Houghton debuted in England against Russia in March 2007 and appeared in two World Cups and Euros, as well as the 2012 and 2020 Olympics.
She led the Lioness to a third-place finish at the 2015 World Cup in Canada and made over 100 appearances for her country.
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