England Women will face Canada in a behind-closed-doors friendly just eight days before their World Cup opener against Haiti.
The European champions, ranked fourth in the world, will take on their North American counterparts, ranked sixth, on the Sunshine Coast on July 14.
England will be gearing up for their Group D fixtures against Haiti, Denmark and China. Their opening World Cup fixture against Haiti is on July 22.
Canada, who announced their preliminary roster of 25 players on Thursday, are in Group B with hosts Australia, the Republic of Ireland and Nigeria. Their opener comes against Nigeria on July 21.
England were expected to go up against Portugal on July 1 in another warm-up match but that fixture is now in doubt.
The Athletic reported earlier this week that Sarina Wiegman’s players have been told they will not feature in the proposed warm-up match against Portugal if they do not commit to joining a preparation camp on June 19.
The proposed start date for England’s training camp — June 19 — is four days earlier than football’s world governing body FIFA and the European Club Association’s recommended window of June 23 to June 29.
England players have also been dragged into the dispute during their short post-season break, with squad members asked to indicate…
