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Megan Armitage
Take a look at the best of the action from Milton Keynes as the Lionesses roar to victory
● England have faced Korea Republic twice previously and are unbeaten in both, keeping two clean sheets (W1 D1). Their one win came in March 2011 in the Cyprus Cup, a 2-0 victory with both goals scored by Sue Smith.
● This will be the first meeting between England and Korea Republic on English soil, with the previous two meetings coming in Suwon in Korea Republic and Achna in Cyprus. It’s England’s first game at Stadium MK since April 2017, a 3-0 win over Austria.
● England are unbeaten in all 26 of their games in all competitions under Sarina Wiegman (W22 D4), scoring 125 goals and conceding just seven. They have never conceded more than once in a game under Wiegman.
● Korea Republic are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions (W3 D2) since suffering a 2-1 defeat to Japan in the EAFF E-1 Football Championship in July 2022.
● England were victorious in the 2022 Arnold Clark Cup, topping the group on goal difference ahead of Spain with five points (W1 D2). Their two draws – against Canada and Spain – during the tournament are 50 per cent of the games they’ve failed to win under Wiegman (also draws against Czech Republic and Norway in October and November last year respectively).
● During England’s 26-game unbeaten run, the Lionesses have had 478 more shots than their opponents in that time (633 shots, 155 faced). Only two teams have managed to have more efforts at goal than they have in a game – Spain (twice in February and July 2022) and Germany (July 2022).
● Since Wiegman’s first game in charge in September 2021, defender Millie Bright has played the most minutes (2,075), completed the most passes (1,660), made the most interceptions (37), headed clearances (37), won the most aerial duels (54) and blocked the joint most shots on target (7) of any England player. Her last two goals were also scored in the 2022 Arnold Clark Cup, against Canada and Germany.
● Despite only starting eight games and playing 988 minutes, Ella Toone was directly involved in 15 goals for England during 2022 (nine goals, six assists), second only to Beth Mead (23) for goals and assists during the previous calendar year. Toone either scored or assisted every 66 minutes during 2022.
Sarina Wiegman is ready to get England’s World Cup preparations underway this month, as the Arnold Clark Cup kicks-off on home soil.
The Lionesses play their first game of 2023 against Korea Republic in Milton Keynes in the competition and the head coach says they’ll be making the most of three matches in a week.
“What we want to take from this tournament is to get ready for 22 July so it’s preparation for the World Cup,” said Wiegman, who also revealed that midfielder Keira Walsh is a doubt for the game after suffering from a stomach bug.
“We have three games, so that’s lots of opportunities to see players and lots of combinations against good opponents.
“I think every camp is important to see where each player is at in this moment with a couple of months to go.
“This tournament will give us lots of information but there’s still many games to play for teams, and then we have April and some more matches and then we have to make a decision.
“So it’s good to have this opportunity and so many minutes with the players this week.”
Wiegman is also pleased to be facing opposition from Asia this year, alongside fellow Euro nations in Belgium and Italy.
“I think it’s very good to play Korea Republic because it’s another culture and continent and that brings a lot of things so it’s really good to play an opponent like that,” she added.
“I think Italy has grown as a team very much. They’re playing different styles of play, which is very good for us to play against.
“And Belgium, as we saw in the EUROs did very well and just lost against Sweden, so they’re good opponents who are really improving in their game.”
🔴 Live from St. George’s Park 🔴
Listen in to Sarina Wiegman and @leahcwilliamson ahead of our #ArnoldClarkCup opener: https://t.co/gHBGLiT5rN
The Lionesses have met Korea Republic on two previous occasions, both over ten years ago.
Our first game against them came at the Peace Cup in Suwon on 19 October 2010, when it ended all square.
Hope Powell’s side then faced them less than five months later at the 2011 Cyprus Cup, when England won 2-0 in the fifth-sixth place game thanks to two goals from Sue Smith.
However, some of the current squad have previously played Korea Republic with development teams, most notably Lucy Bronze at the 2008 FIFA Women’s U17 World Cup and also Leah Williamson, Nikita Parris and Beth Mead at the 2014 FIFA U20 World Cup in Canada.
See the best of the action from England's last get-together of 2022 when they faced Japan in Spain
Follow the game from Milton Keynes via our live stats and commentary.
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