Is England vs Belgium on TV? Channel, time and how to watch Lionesses tonight
UEFA Women’s Nations League – England v Belgium
7.45 pm BST, Friday 27 October 2023
King Power Stadium, Leicester
It’s not been the most convincing start to the Nations League for the Lionesses, but tonight they’ll be looking to get back to their winning ways as they host Belgium in Leicester.
The European champions defeated Scotland in Sunderland to open their Nations League campaign but then suffered a 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands.
It puts the 2023 World Cup runners-up in third place in Group A1 ahead of the double-header against Belgium – who lead the group on four points following a win against Scotland and a draw against the Netherlands.
The Lionesses must win their group to advance to the Nations League Finals and must then get through to the semi-finals for Team GB to qualify for next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
England have faced Belgium twice under boss Sarina Wiegman, winning 3-0 in June 2022 and then 6-1 on their way to lifting the Arnold Clark Cup earlier this year.
But Belgium have shown they can hold their own with some of Europe’s best – defeating the Netherlands 2-1 in the Nations League.
When is England vs Belgium?
The match will kick off at 7:45 pm BST on Friday 27 October at the King Power Stadium in Leicester.
How can I watch it?
It will be shown live on ITV 4 and online on ITV X, with coverage starting from 7 pm.
What is the England team news?
The Lionesses will be without Lauren James for both matches against Belgium after the forward picked up a concussion injury.
But Fran Kirby could be set to make an appearance for England – which would be her first since last October. She was a key figure for the EURO 2022 win but missed out on the World Cup due to a knee surgery.
Key midfielder and Barcelona player Keira Walsh has also returned to the squad after missing out on last month’s fixtures due to injury.
Predicted line-up
England: Earps; Bronze, Bright, Greenwood, Daly; Walsh, Stanway, Kirby; Kelly, Russo, Hemp
Prediction
WTX Sport predicts England will win 3-1.
With the return of Fran Kirby and on home soil – in front of a sold-out crowd, we expect England to put their loss behind them and get back to their winning ways.
How does the Nations League work?
The Nations League sees the European countries split into three Leagues, with the top 16 teams spread across four groups in League A.
The countries in each group then play each other home and away, with the top side in each League A pool progressing to the four-team Finals next year.
The two sides who reach the Nations League final will then qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris next summer, with the third-place side also qualifying should hosts France make the final.
Wiegman, who would lead the Team GB football team should they qualify for Paris 2024, said: “We always want to win and we know the expectations are high, but we have our own expectations too, and what we really want to do.
“Of course, we lost the last game [against the Netherlands] and we were not happy with that and we want to bounce back.
“What we have been working on is to improve our game again, do the things right and play very well against Belgium, and have a good result. That’s how we approach it so those are the expectations too.”
