The Arnold Clark Cup could prove ideal England’s women ahead of Euros
England’s women footballers have traditionally spent the first international break of the calendar year in the United States competing in the invitational SheBelieves Cup.
This year, however, England are hosting their own tournament involving three other top-10 ranked sides who they will play across three match days, starting tomorrow.
The Arnold Clark Cup, sponsored by the vehicle marketplace, will see world No8 England take on Germany, Canada and Spain in Middlesbrough, Norwich and Wolverhampton.
And the new competition is now a direct rival to the SheBelieves Cup, where this year world No1s USA take on a weaker field in Iceland, New Zealand and Czech Republic.
The strength of the Arnold Clark Cup means it should prepare the Lionesses and their competitors for this year’s Euros, – which are also being hosted by England.
Germany take on Spain in the opening match on Thursday afternoon at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough before England face Canada in the evening.
World No6-ranked Canada ought to be a useful test for an England side who, under new coach Serina Wiegman, have won six out of six and average 71 per cent possession.
They then play Spain at Carrow Road on Sunday prior to Canada’s game against Germany at the same stadium before the competition concludes three days later at Molineux, where Spain play Canada and England clash with Germany.
The tournament is in a straight round robin format with the table topper at the end of matchday three lifting the inaugural trophy.
After announcing her squad, which excluded former captain Steph Houghton, Wiegman said: “This is what we need. We had a very good autumn with the three international camps and now we need these games to really know where we are.
“This is a tournament where we can really have a starting point for our preparations for the Euros. Obviously we have already done that but now, with these world-class opponents, we will really know where we stand.”
The one enigma of this new tournament is the scheduling. Round one and three are both on weekdays, with the first match on each day kicking off at 2:30pm. This is hardly ideal for fans who may wish to attend the opening game of either day.
Furthermore, the second match kicks off five hours later on all three match days. With tickets being sold for each game individually, it would be hard to see a situation where many would want to watch the first match before waiting around to watch the second.
England have a chance to showcase world-class football before they’re expected to put on a showpiece Euros event and the scheduling at the Arnold Clark Cup could prove a hindrance to that.
That said, the talent England have been able to attract to this inaugural competition – including Canada, who could have been part of a SheBelieves Cup on their border – is a feather in the Football Association’s cap.
Moreover, should it be a success, it could continue to rival its American counterpart as the premium February women’s international competition, particularly for European sides, and a real hotbed for exciting, high quality football.