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December internationals: who's playing and when

Beth Mead smiles in England training

20 of our women's first team will be in action for their respective national teams over the coming seven days.

Beth Mead is back with the England squad after a year away for two vital Nations League fixtures. Our number nine joins Alessia Russo and Lotte Wubben-Moy as the Lionesses take on Vivianne Miedema and Victoria Pelova's Netherlands side at Wembley Stadium on December 1.

It's a must-win game for Sarina Wiegman's team if they want a chance of playing in next year's Olympics. Meanwhile, the Dutch are in a strong position in Group 1.

On December 5, Mead, Russo and Wubben-Moy will head to Hampden Park to take on Scotland, while Pelova and Miedema will host second-place Belgium.

Over in Group 2, Manuela Zinsberger's Austria will go head-to-head with group leaders France, before taking on Frida Maanum's Norway. The Norwegians are currently at risk of relegation to League B and will need a result against Austria and third-place Portugal to achieve safety. 

Kathrine Kuhl and Denmark are in a promising position, leading the pack in Group 3. They can secure a place in the Nations League semi-finals this month with wins against Germany and Iceland. 

Spain are currently on course to win Group 4 but a vital clash against Sweden on December 5 could change matters. Laia Codina and the World Cup winners face Italy first on December 1. 

Before they take on Spain, Amanda Ilestedt, Stina Blackstenius and Lina Hurtig will be in action for Sweden's game against Lia Walti and Noelle Maritz's Switzerland. With the Swiss yet to record a point, they have their work cut out to avoid automatic relegation. 

Katie McCabe's Ireland side have already won promotion to Nations League A but the Girls in Green will be aiming for a perfect record against Hungary and Northern Ireland this month.

Five of our squad have headed to the Canadian west coast for a series of friendlies between Canada and Australia. Sabrina D'Angelo and Cloe Lacasse face our trio of Matildas - Steph Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord - in a double-header in British Columbia. 

Where and when our internationals are playing

All times are BST

Friday, December 1

Norway (Maanum) v Portugal 
Nations League | Oslo, Norway | 6pm

Switzerland (Walti, Maritz) v Sweden (Ilestedt, Blackstenius, Hurtig) 
Nations League | Lucerne, Switzerland | 7pm

Republic of Ireland (McCabe) v Hungary 
Nations League | Dublin, Ireland | 7:30pm

Germany v Denmark (Kuhl) 
Nations League | Rostock, Germany | 7:30pm

England (Mead, Russo, Wubben-Moy) v Netherlands (Miedema, Pelova) 
Nations League | London, England | 7:45pm 

Austria (Zinsberger) v France 
Nations League | Rennes, France | 8:10pm

Spain (Codina) v Italy 
Nations League | Pontevedra, Spain | 8:30pm

Saturday, December 2

Canada (Lacasse, D'Angelo) v Australia (Catley, Cooney-Cross, Foord) 
Friendly | British Columbia, Canada | 3:30am

Tuesday, December 5

Northern Ireland v Republic of Ireland (McCabe) 
Nations League | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 6pm

Italy v Switzerland (Walti, Maritz) 
Nations League | Parma, Italy | 6pm

Spain (Codina) v Sweden (Ilestedt, Blackstenius, Hurtig) 
Nations League | Malaga, Spain | 6pm

Austria (Zinsberger) v Norway (Maanum)
Nations League | St Polten, Austria | 6:15pm

Denmark (Kuhl) v Iceland 
Nations League | Viborg, Denmark | 6:30pm

Netherlands (Miedema, Pelova) v Belgium 
Nations League | Tilburg, Netherlands | 7:45pm

Scotland v England (Mead, Russo, Wubben-Moy) 
Nations League | Glasgow, Scotland | 7:45pm

Wednesday, December 6

Canada (Lacasse, D'Angelo) v Australia (Catley, Cooney-Cross, Foord) 
Friendly | Vancouver, Canada | 3am