England ready to test themselves against ‘technically unbelievable’ Japan

Georgia Stanway expects England to face a tough test against ‘technically unbelievable’ Japan in their friendly on Friday.The Lionesses continue their preparations for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year by facing Japan and then Norway at the Pinatar Arena in Spain.And Stanway, who currently plays for German side Bayern Munich, is excited for the challenge that awaits the European champions.’I think Japan are technically unbelievable. They’re almost like Spain in the way they pop the ball (around), the way they move,’ she told Sky Sports.’I think defensively we might have the upper hand physically, but it’s going to be a very exciting game. It’s just nice to be in the nice weather, playing against top teams and just seeing what we’re all about.’England go into the camp with a number of injury concerns, with Alex Greenwood due to miss the game against Japan but could be available to face Norway on Tuesday.Lucy Bronze tested positive for coronavirus and will rejoin the squad when she tests negative, while Lauren Hemp, Jordan Nobbs, Fran Kirby, Leah Williamson and Lucy Parker are all unavailable.England manager Sarina Wiegman admitted her players are in need of a rest after a busy schedule over the last few years.Some of England’s players have taken part in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and last summer’s Euros, as well as the domestic Women’s Super League and Champions League.Wiegman said: ‘We know that there’s a tournament, tournament, tournament and it’s good to have tournaments and have those players available, not just for us but the other countries.’But they also need some rest, they are not robots and there hasn’t been that much rest for players.’So what we do – and what has been done at clubs too – is to manage players. So we have our team programme and within our team programme we also do the individual adjustments to keep players fit and keep them fresh.’