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China to play England in April for women's World Cup warmup

Xinhua, February 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

China will play a women's World Cup warmup match against England in April before this summer's FIFA Women's World Cup, the FA announced here on Friday.

The game will be played at Manchester City's new Academy Stadium on Thursday, 9 April. It will be the first international match played at the stadium.

The match will be a final send-off for England before they travel to Canada for the World Cup. England will face France (9 June) and Mexico (13 June) in Moncton, then Colombia (17 June) in Montreal in Group F.

England last played China in 2007 in the China Cup, losing 2-0 in China's Guandong province.

England head coach Mark Sampson said: "The confirmation of the China match is a big positive for us. Not only will we face a strong opponent, but one from a continent with which we have limited experience against.

"The match will be a real challenge for the team. It also means after the China match we will have played nine of the top 13 ranked nations over the last 18 months, which gives the team a true sense of the quality of opponent they will face at the World Cup.

"The match is also last opportunity for the team to play in front of our supporters before the World Cup. We will be determined to put on a big performance and enjoy a positive send-off."

England travelled to Larnaca on Thursday to compete in the annual Cyprus Cup. They face three group matches against Finland (on 4 March), Australia (6 March) and Netherlands (9 March). Endi