Arnold Clark Cup schedule: How to watch, live stream England, Belgium, Italy, South Korea, start times

England women’s national team and 2022 Euro champions are set to host the annual Arnold Clark Cup on Thursday. The Lionesses welcome Belgium, Italy, and South Korea to the second edition of the competition and England is the current defending champion. Belgium will try to play spoiler during the Arnold Clark Cup, while Italy and South Korea will join England in preparation for the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Fans can watch the entire Cup competition on Paramount+.

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Thursday, Feb. 16

Sunday, Feb. 19

Wednesday, Feb. 22

Lioness look to defend title without Fran Kirby

The Arnold Clark cup is only in its second year, but the Lionesses are primed for a strong title defense in this year’s iteration. England is the favorite to win and manager Sarina Wiegman named a large 26-player roster for the competition. However, they’ll have to navigate the Cup without Fran Kirby after the midfielder sustained a knee injury during Chelsea’s win against West Ham. 

Jordan Nobbs has been called up to replace Kirby, but England’s most exciting player of the moment is Lauren James. Her 10 appearances with Chelsea have been productive, with 4 goals and an assist, and she is coming off an exciting pair of FA Cup matches with one goal and two assists. Whether or not the Chelsea attacker (and sister of men’s Chelsea star Reece James) gets time in the competition really all depends on how Wiegman wants to evaluate the offense. Despite the absence of Beth Mead with an ACL injury, the front line is full of options with Chole Kelly, Lauren Hemp, Alessia Russo, and Ebony Salmon among the forward core.

Italy build toward World Cup

Italy is qualified for the 2023 World Cup but is looking to improve on a disappointing Euros campaign that ended early in the group stage. The team previously made it all the way to the Euro quarterfinals back in 2019, and they will want to build momentum as they prepare for Australia and New Zealand. They’ll get a chance to take on Euro champions, but how will they fair against another World Cup-bound team in South Korea may present more questions than answers. 

Winger Barbara Bonansea can still provide an impact on the pitch for Italy, but her Juventus teammate Cristiana Girelli will likely lead the attack. Girelli has 12 goals with two assists over 16 Serie A appearances this season.

Belgium gets more experience

Belgium is the only squad in this tournament who are not going to the 2023 World Cup. Manager Ives Serneels also named a 26-player roster with several young players the program will likely build with towards the future. The team suffered three narrow, one-goal, losses over the course of their World Cup qualifying campaign, and showed they are a tough opposition to play against. The team is coming off a seven-goal blowout win against Slovakia in November, so look for Tessa Wullaert to try and provide the scoring for Belgium.

Ji So-Yun returns to Europe

South Korea is the only non-European nation participating in this edition of the Arnold Clark Cup. Midfielder Ji So-Yun makes her return to England after spending eight years with Chelsea FC. Her time with the club ended last summer, and she now plays with Suwon FC Women in South Korea. She’s the captain and headline player of the team, but two others are currently playing for club in England’s FAWSL with Lee Geum-Min and Park Ye-Eun at Brighton & Hove Albion FC. 

What’s next

The Arnold Clark Cup will begin on Thursday, Feb.16 at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, with additional games on Sunday, Feb. 19 at CBS Arena in Coventry. The tournament will conclude on Wednesday, Feb. 22 with the final matches at Bristol City’s Ashton Gate Stadium.