In the penultimate matchday of the UEFA Women’s Nations League, England’s Lionesses will need to pull out all of the stops against Portugal on Friday night if they want to fight for the top spot in Group A3.
The last time these two sides met was back in February 2025 on Matchday 1 of the campaign where the points were shared in a tight 1-1 draw in Portimao.
Although England maintained a narrow lead for most of the game (thanks to an early Alessia Russo goal) it was second-half substitute, Kika Nazareth, who finally broke through the English defence to equalise with 15 minutes left on the clock, earning a vital point in the group standings.
How the table stands ahead of Matchday 5:
Spain have been a dominant force yet again in this competition (recently beating Portugal 7-1 on Matchday 4) and sit at the top of table.
However, England are only two points behind La Roja and if results go their way could still push for a top finish which would see them through to the finals of the UWNL which will be played later this year.
Lionesses Team News:
In a change to the team that drew with Portugal last time, there is no Lauren James in the squad due to injury and both Ella Toone and Alessia Russo have been ruled out of this first game due to a minor calf injuries. Meanwhile young defender Ella Morris devastatingly ruptured her ACL in camp on her first senior call-up and defender Millie Bright has withdrawn due to wanting extra recovery time ahead of the summer. Lotte Wubben-Moy and Laura Blindkilde-Brown have been called up in their places.
The biggest shock concerning team news of course was goalkeeper Mary Earps’ announcement to retire immediately from international duty, making herself unavailable in this window and the Euros after being called up to Wiegman’s squad. This leaves Hannah Hampton as England’s only goalkeeper with senior international minutes, while Khiara Keating has debuted in the England youth groups and Anna Moorhouse is yet to play her first game in an England shirt. Will this window then be an opportunity for Sarina Wiegman to give her more inexperienced keepers minutes to prepare them for the summer? Only time will tell.
On the other hand, more positive news for Alex Greenwood, Georgia Stanway and Lauren Hemp who all return from injury to prepare for the Euros.
Navegadoras (Portugal) Team News:
Newcomers Carolina Correia and Samara Lino have earned their first call-up for the team after helping to win their club’s (Torreense) first ever Taça de Portugal Feminina (Portugal Cup) in a surprise win against Benfica.
Head coach Francisco Neto also spoke about welcoming forward Jéssica Silva back to the squad after injury and he also hopes Kika Nazareth, previous goalscorer against England, will be fit in time for the Euros but sadly will not feature in this camp. Unfortunately, neither will defender Joana Marchão who picked up an injury in her club’s last game of the season.
Does this game mean anything?
Yes! This is Matchday 5 of the UEFA Women’s Nations League and the final standings (after we face Spain on Tuesday 3rd June) will help decide the teams’ starting positions in the 2027 World Cup Qualifier campaign which begins next year.
After these final matches, the four winners from the League A groups automatically go through to the finals for a chance to win the UWNL trophy.
Relegation and promotion:
There is automatic relegation for the bottom four teams in Leagues A and B (into Leagues B and C) while the top four teams in Leagues B and top six teams in League C are automatically promoted.
Play-offs:
The four third-placed teams in League A will play against the second-placed teams in each group of League B over two legs with the winner earning a place in League A.
Also in League B, the two best third-placed teams will also play against the two best-ranked second-placed teams of League C for a place in League B in the qualifiers.
If England currently stay in second place, we neither go through to the UWNL or have to play in a play-off match, therefore second simply means we are safe.
England vs Portugal will be shown on ITV4 live from Wembley with coverage starting from 7pm on Friday 30th May.
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