England Women vs Brazil Women. Women's CONMEBOL/UEFA Finalissima.
Wembley StadiumAttendance83,132.
England Women 1
- E Toone (23rd minute)
Brazil Women 1
- A Alves da Silva (93rd minute)
England Women win 4-2 on penalties.
England Women vs Brazil Women: All you need to know ahead of first Women's Finalissima to be held at Wembley
The first Women's Finalissima takes place at a sold-out Wembley on Thursday as England and Brazil go head to head; Follow the game in Sky Sports' dedicated live blog from 6.30pm on Thursday; kick-off 7.45pm. Also follow updates on Sky Sports News throughout the day
Thursday 6 April 2023 18:15, UK
Euro 2022 winners England and Copa America champions Brazil meet in the first Women's Finalissima at Wembley on Thursday, with another trophy up for grabs.
Excitement has been building for the showpiece event, which will mark another watershed moment for the women's game. It swiftly follows the first Men's Finalissima, which saw Argentina beat Italy 3-0 at Wembley in June 2022.
The two teams have arguably had differing fortunes since their respective tournament wins last summer. England won the Arnold Clark Cup in February, scoring 12 goals across the three games, and remain unbeaten in their 29 games under Sarina Wiegman.
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- Lionesses switch to blue shorts after concerns over periods
- What is the Women's World Cup schedule?
- Get Sky Sports | Download the Sky Sports App
Brazil - managed by former Sweden international Pia Sundhage - took part in the SheBelieves Cup earlier this year, but finished third behind the USA and Japan. They are in danger of losing three successive games for the first time in four years.
Of course, this ever-so-slight dip in form will do little to change England's preparations. The Wembley showpiece will be one of the final chances for both managers to tinker with their squad ahead of the Women's World Cup in July.
Wiegman: A great occasion | Sundhage: This will be fantastic
In an unusual situation at Wednesday's pre-match press conference, both managers and captains addressed the media together as a show of unity ahead of a landmark moment in the women's game.
England boss Sarina Wiegman said: "It's the first Finalissima. That's really nice and it will be a great occasion.
"We're going to be playing in front of 90,000 people and it's set to be a very exciting environment and evening. These are two teams who want to play football.
"Although Brazil have a young team, this is a very good football team. They're powerful, have athleticism and are very tight on the ball. They're very technical and play with a good structure, so we're excited to see where we're at against them.
"We expect to be challenged more in defence, so that will give us more information about our team and where players are at this moment moving forward in our preparation for the World Cup."
Brazil manager Pia Sundhage said: "This is part of the journey to the World Cup and I'm really appreciative and happy to play against one of the best teams and one of the best coaches in the world.
"We have a bit of an inexperienced team. If you look at our squad we don't have many players who played in the World Cup.
"This will be fantastic. We'll get to see how they play in front of huge crowds. Thursday night is a teacher and we have the chance to learn something. We'll get some answers after this game and I'm grateful for the opportunity."
Williamson: I'm in awe of Rafa | Souza: Leah's half Brazilian!
England captain Leah Williamson and Brazil skipper Rafaelle Souza go from team-mates to rivals on Thursday evening.
Regularly playing together for Arsenal, the pair spoke about each other in glowing terms as they prepare to lead out their countries at a sold-out Wembley.
"I think Rafa is a bit of a warrior," Williamson said. "As an athlete, she's head and shoulders above the rest, and the Brazilian way and what she can do with her feet is pretty impressive.
"I'm in awe of her most days, so it's new territory being on a different team.
"When you play against Brazil, you appreciate the individual skill and creativity. It's hard to play against and you don't know what's coming."
Responding to Williamson, Souza said: "Leah is a great player. I'm really glad to play with her, but not against her.
"I feel like she's half Brazilian. She's got the skills. She just needs to learn Samba and then she will be fine. She's such a good player and deserves to be here."
Who are the players to watch for Brazil?
Marta - an icon of women's football - has been included in the squad for the April internationals. At 37, she is Brazil's second highest-capped player and their all-time goalscorer. She is likely to start on the bench, but remains a potent threat.
The likes of Tamires and Bia Zaneratto also feature of Brazil's all-time lists. However, they will be without forward Debinha - the third-highest scorer for her country - who misses out through injury.
The most recognisable face for WSL fans will be Arsenal defender Rafaelle Souza. She has 80 caps for her country and will come up against her club centre-back partner in Leah Williamson.
Brazil forward Geyse - who has six international goals - will also face her club team-mate in Lucy Bronze, with the pair playing together at Barcelona.
Goalkeeper Camila Rodrigues and forward Aline Gomes will be hoping to make their Brazil debuts during the current international break.
Parker: I was cleaning the bathroom and missed Sarina's call!
Thursday's game will be a landmark moment for West Ham's Lucy Parker. She had to withdraw from the September camp due to injury, missing out on friendlies against the USA at Wembley and the Czech Republic in Brighton.
Now, she has the chance to earn he first senior cap - although she missed Wiegman's initial call last month while cleaning her bathroom.
She recalled: "It was a hard time to wrap my head around what had happened and probably to date it was mentally one of the toughest things I've experienced, because playing for England has always been the end goal for me.
"There was always that stress of whether my chance will come again, but I spoke to Sarina when I left that camp and she just told me to focus on getting back fit and we'll take another look. That meant a lot.
"The second time around, I was cleaning my bathroom and missed her call. Eventually, I got hold of her and I just felt happiness and relief that the chance had come back again. The second I hung up, I rang my mum, so there were a lot of happy emotions.
"I think Thursday night is going to be a crazy experience. When I withdrew from the previous camp, I still went to watch the game and it was crazy even from the stands, so to be on the pitch this time will be incredible."
"There's excitement. Everyone just wants to get going and get the game played. Hopefully, we'll win and bring another trophy back."
"Brazil obviously have a lot of creative talent and so managing one-on-one duels and things like that are what we'll be focusing on."
England to wear new kit with all-blue shorts
The Lionesses released their new kit ahead of the Women's World Cup on Monday, with both home and away strips featuring blue shorts after players raised concerns over wearing white shorts while on their periods.
They will wear the new kit for the first time against Brazil and Australia during this current international break and will go on public sale in June.
While the FA did not provide a reason for the switch in its media release, kit manufacturer Nike announced their 2023 women's teams kits will include leak protection technology. It has been a move welcomed by a number of current and former England players.
How to follow Finalissima across Sky Sports
Follow England vs Brazil in our dedicated live blog from 6.30pm on Thursday; kick-off 7.45pm. Also follow updates on Sky Sports News throughout the day.
What is the World Cup schedule?
The group stage will begin on July 20 and run over a two-week period finishing on August 3 and see group winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16, which takes place from August 5 to August 8.
The quarter-finals, which will be held in Wellington, Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney, are scheduled for August 11 and 12.
The first semi-final will then be played on August 15 in Auckland, with the other semi-final taking place on August 16 at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, which will then host the final on August 20.
A third-place play-off will be played the day before the final on August 19 in Brisbane.
