China vs England: Team news, broadcast options, preview for 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup clash

Topics: TV Schedules, China, England, FIFA Women's World Cup

The Lionesses and Steel Roses face off in a tie that will decide who qualifies for the round of 16 and who will head home early.

Where can I watch China vs England on TV?

If you live in the USA, the match will be aired on FOX Network and Telemundo. Fans in the United Kingdom can watch England live in action on TV on STV Scotland, UTV, and ITV 1 UK. If you live elsewhere, please check our dedicated match page for further information on how to follow this game live on TV in your country.

Where can I stream China vs England live?

Fans in the USA will have several streaming options to pick from for this FIFA Women's World Cup tie. This clash will be available to follow on Telemundo Deportes, Peacock, Foxsports.com, Fox Sports GO, and the Fox Sports App. As for the UK, the streaming options are ITVX and STV Player, with the earlier offering the game on-demand as well. For official streaming options for other countries, please check our dedicated match page.

China vs England – Team news

England

Things went from bad to worse for the Lionesses in the injury department. Not only have Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby, and Beth Mead missed out on this competition due to injuries but Keira Walsh has also picked up a serious issue. The Barcelona player was stretchered off the pitch during the narrow victory over Denmark and while she fortunately avoided damaging her ACL, the midfielder will miss this game and might not feature again.

In Walsh's absence, Laura Coombs could deputize following her impressive 2022/23 campaign in the FA Women's Super League for Manchester City. Lauren James, who made her first start in the clash with Denmark and scored the winning goal, is likely to retain her starting XI berth. Alessia Russo should lead the line while Rachel Daly, the FA Women's Super League top scorer last season, could start at left-back again.

China

Zhang Rui is unavailable for this tie after picking up a straight red card in the 29th minute of their 1-0 win over Haiti. This means the Asian side will have to find a new midfield partner for Lingwei Yao and Lina Yang, with Zhang Xin in line to step in.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xin, who scored the winner against Haiti despite China's one-woman disadvantage, started the first two games on the bench but will be hoping for a start this time around.

China vs England: Head-to-head and key stats

This will be the sixth encounter between these two nations.
The last time they met was in October 2015 in the Dewellbon Cup. China won that game 2-1.
In fact, the Steel Roses boast the superior head-to-head record in this match-up, winning three and losing only one of their five encounters with the Lionesses (D1).
The Asian giants have progressed to the knockout stage every single time they participated in the FIFA Women's World Cup.
England have won the final group-stage game in each of their last five Women's World Cup appearances.
Additionally, the Lionesses have scored in 15 consecutive matches in this tournament and look to become the first team in history to score in 16 straight fixtures.

Permutations

England are pretty much through to the round of 16. With two wins from their first two games, the Women's Euro champions boast six points, three more than closest rivals Denmark and China. This means a win or a draw would secure Sarina Wiegman's side the no.1 spot in their group and a clash with Nigeria in the round of 16.

Things are looking bleak for China as not only will they need to beat England, but they need to also better Denmark's result against Haiti in order to tip the tiebreaker — goal difference and then the number of goals scored — in their favor. The Scandanavians, meanwhile, sit in second and simply need to match Steel Roses' score.

The interesting scenario would be if both China and Denmark win as that would create a three-way tie on six points in Group D between those two and England. Regardless, the odds still favor the Lionesses and while they have not been impressive so far, Russo and Co. are still the favorites to progress out of the three.