England are to play South American champions Brazil at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium on Saturday 5 October [kick-off 12:45pm].
The fixture will be the Lionesses’ first home match since the FIFA World Cup. Brazil will provide another stern test on home soil for Phil Neville’s squad ahead the visit of Germany to England in November.
Phil Neville said: “It is great to be able to have secured this fixture against such opposition. I know a lot of work has gone into making it happen. Brazil will provide a different test to the other games we have lined up over the coming months, and it is always a special occasion when our two countries meet. I am also delighted that we will be playing in the north-east, a real footballing hot-bed that has produced so many of our players over the years.”
The Riverside Stadium is used to welcoming Brazilian flair with Middlesbrough having been home to the likes of men’s stars Juninho, Emerson and Branco in the 1990s.
The Great Britain men’s football team played Brazil in Middlesbrough in July 2012 in their only warm-up match for the London Olympics, while Team GB women hosted Sweden beforehand as part of a double-header at the Riverside Stadium.
It will be the third head to head between the nations in the last year, with Beth Mead’s winner giving England a 2-1 success at the SheBelieves Cup in Philadelphia in February after Fran Kirby had struck the only goal in a 1-0 victory at Notts County on 7 October last year.
While the fixture will help Phil Neville in his early preparations for UEFA EURO 2021 on home soil, the match will also provide vital experience for Team GB planning. Brazil have also qualified for next summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo and will be fancied to challenge for the medal positions after their success in the last Copa América Femenina.
The clash with Brazil comes on the back of two away fixtures for England’s Lionesses. Belgium held England to a 3-3 draw at the Den Dreef Stadium in Leuven last week, and this evening Phil Neville’s squad take on World Cup quarter final opponents Norway in Bergen.
Tickets for England v Brazil are available for sale online now, visit thefa.com/tickets to book. Telephone and in-person sales will be available from 09:00am tomorrow morning [Wednesday 4 September] via the Middlesbrough ticket office on 01642 929421 or via tickets.mfc.co.uk.
Tickets are available for an advanced rate of £7.50 for adults for the first two weeks of sale, until 18 September. Standard adult tickets are priced at £10, with concessions just £1. For further information, supporters are encouraged to sign up to the Lionesses Supporters Club by visiting thefa.com/joinlsc
