England Women will take on France in October in an international friendly which will mark the start of their EURO 2017 preparations.
The Lionesses will play France, third in the FIFA world ranking, at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster on Friday 21 October (8pm KO).
Tickets for the game will go on sale at midday on Tuesday 20 September priced £7.50 for adults and £3.50 for concessions. A family ticket (two adults and two children) is available at £15 and group booking and Charter Standard discounts apply.
Tickets can be bought via www.theFA.com/Tickets.
The sides last faced each other in March in a closely fought 0-0 draw at the SheBelieves Cup.
England sealed qualification for next summer’s tournament, which will take place in Netherlands, with a 7-0 win over Serbia in June.
They will finish their qualification campaign against Belgium in Leuven on Tuesday (6pm BST KO) where a draw will see them top Group 7. The match will be live on the BBC Red Button and website.
England head coach Mark Sampson said: “We want to focus on playing european opposition betweeen now and next summer’s Euros. There are some excellent nations who will be at the tournament and the more experience we can have playing them the better prepared we’ll be.
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“We’re pleased that France have agreed to come over and play us. We haven’t beaten them for a long time so we’re looking to change that.
“They’re the third best team in the world so it is a great test for us and if we’re going to do well at the Euros, we’ll have to beat teams like France on the way.
“Although it’s a friendly, we’ll be approaching this game in a very competitive way as part of our tournament preparations.
“We’re looking forward to playing at Doncaster. The club has such a big women’s football history and the Keepmoat is a great stadium so it will hopefully make for a great game.”
Gavin Baldwin, chief executive of Club Doncaster, said “We are delighted to welcome Mark Sampson and the England Women’s team to the Keepmoat Stadium as they take on France in what should be a fantastic game.
“Our area has a long association with the women’s game, with the Belles side one of the most iconic names since their formation in 1969. I am delighted that we can build on that by hosting this game hope we get a good crowd to support the Lionesses.”
The draw for EURO 2017 will take place on Tuesday 8 November in Rotterdam.
For more information please visit www.TheFa.com/England
Danielle Carter in action for England against Estonia (Images: FA via Getty).
Also, in other squad news:
ENGLAND DUO WITHDRAW FROM SQUAD THROUGH INJURY
England Women duo Claire Rafferty and Rebecca Spencer have been forced to pull out of the squad that will face Belgium tomorrow due to injury.
Rafferty has withdrawn with concussion and Spencer with a back injury.
Head coach Mark Sampson has called up Reading goalkeeper Mary Earps to replace Spencer, after she trained with the Next Gen squad at St George’s Park last week.
A draw against Belgium will be enough for England to secure Group 7 top spot in their EURO 2017 qualifying campaign, after beating Estonia 5-0 at Meadow Lane on Thursday. The match, which will be played at the Den Dreef stadium in Leuven, is live on the BBC Red Button and BBC Sport website (6pm BST KO).
