England to open UEFA Women’s Nations League campaign in Sunderland | OneFootball

England will play their opening UEFA Women’s Nations League fixture against Scotland at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light.

FAWSL Full-Time were informed of the news via an official press release from The Football Association this lunchtime. The match will take place on Friday 22 September 2023 and will kick-off at 7.45pm.

The Lionesses are set to return to Wearside for the first time since November 2021. On that occasion, Ellen White scored the only goal in a 1-0 FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 qualifying victory over Austria. That game is remembered for the high winds which caused chaos in the North East in the build-up to kick-off. Only a last-minute safety decision allowed the game to go ahead.

England’s upcoming fixture against Scotland brings the start of the inaugural UEFA Women’s Nations League. The tournament has been brought in by UEFA to mirror the men’s edition. England have been drawn in a tricky group alongside Scotland, The Netherlands and Belgium. The Scotland fixture is part of an international double-header with England set to travel to Utrecht to take on The Netherlands just four days’ later.

Ticket information for England’s opening UEFA Women’s Nations League match against Scotland will be announced in due course.