England to face Italy, Belgium & South Korea at 2023 Arnold Clark Cup
By Ali Rampling
The full lineup for the 2023 Arnold Clark Cup has been announced, with hosts England set to face tournament debutants Italy, Belgium and South Korea.
The Arnold Clark Cup debuted in England in February 2022 with a star-studded lineup featuring the Lionesses, Olympic gold medalists Canada, and European heavyweights Spain and Germany.
England had previously used the February/March international break to participate in the SheBelieves Cup in the United States.
The Lionesses won the inaugural Arnold Clark Cup thanks to a pair of late goals against Germany at Molineux in the final game of the tournament. One of the enduring images from the 2022 tournament is centre back/makeshift centre forward Millie Bright sharing the golden boot with Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas after the pair topped the scoring charts with two goals each.
It was confirmed on Wednesday that the Arnold Clark Cup would be returning in February 2023, and the three teams to join hosts England have now been announced.
Belgium are ranked 20th in the world and reached the knockout stages of a major tournament for the first time this summer, having progressed the quarter finals of Euro 2022.
Italy are ranked 14th in the world and suffered a disappointing group stage exit at Euro 2022 - losing to Belgium in their final group game.
Korea Republic - ranked 17th in the world - will be the only none European side at the 2023 Arnold Clark Cup. They finished as runners up at the 2022 Asia Cup - the most successful major tournament campaign in their history.
The 2023 Arnold Clark Cup could give fans the opportunity to see former Chelsea midfielder Ji So-yun in action on English soil for the first time since she departed the Blues in the summer of 2022. The midfielder is Korea Republic's all-time top scorer and currently plies her trade at Suwon FC.