Tottenham Hotspur

Bethany England marked her 200th career Women’s Super League appearance with a goal, but it wasn’t enough to spark a comeback as we suffered a 5-2 defeat at the Emirates on Saturday.

Our captain stepped off the bench and – along with our other substitutes – made an impact, but the damage had already been done as a first-half hat-trick from Alessia Russo put the Gunners firmly in the driving seat in front of over 46,000 fans at their home stadium.

All three of the goals could have been avoided from our perspective, while a Cathinka Tandberg effort – later ruled as a Frida Maanum own goal – was our only reply before the break.

Arsenal sub Caitlin Foord made it 4-1 just beyond the hour mark and although we rallied after Martin Ho’s changes, England scoring from the right angle with goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar unable to keep it out, a cheap turnover in possession allowed Stina Blackstenius to run through and find the net deep into added time, making for an unflattering 5-2 final scoreline.

More to follow...

We can now confirm the starting XI and substitutes for this evening’s Women’s Super League encounter against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium (5.30pm UK).

Martin Ho has made two changes to the side that started in last weekend’s defeat to Manchester City in the WSL.

Tōko Koga and Maika Hamano come straight into the starting XI after their triumph with Japan in the Women’s Asian Cup just over a week ago, where they defeated host nation Australia 1-0 in the final.

Defender Toko returns to the backline while Maika, who scored the winning goal for her nation in the showpiece final to claim the trophy, joins the attacking line with Julie Blakstad and Bethany England named amongst our substitutes.

Molly Bartrip will wear the captain's armband for the clash at the Emirates.

Here’s our team in full…

Starting XI: Kop, Batrip (c), A. Nilden, Gauspet, Holdt, Vinberg, Tandberg, Wijk, Hamano, Spence, Koga.

Substitutes: Heeps, England, Rybrink, M. Nilden, Gunning-Williams, Ahtinen, Summanen, Dennis, Blakstad.

There were wins across the board as four more players featured in other internationals on Friday night.

First to kick-off were Kevin Danso's Austria as they hosted the country of his family heritage Ghana in a friendly at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna.

Our centre-back was in from the start to earn his 31st cap and played the first 45 minutes with Marcel Sabitzer's 12th-minute penalty giving the home side the lead at the break.

Replaced in a host of changes at half-time by Ralf Rangnick, Kevin watched on as his nation added four in the second half through Michael Gregoritsch, Stefan Posch, Carney Chukwuemeka and Nicolas Seiwald whilst Jordan Ayew had made it 3-1 with his strike for the Black Stars.

Elsewhere, there were 2-1 victories for the Netherlands internationals Micky van de Ven and Xavi Simons as well as Argentina's Cristian Romero in their respective friendlies.

Micky made his 18th cap with a start at left-back as the Dutch faced Norway at the Johan Cruijff ArenA where they found themselves a goal behind to Andreas Schjelderup's opener on 24 minutes.

The home side responded and, after Donyell Malen saw his shot from Micky's cutback well saved, equalised through Virgil van Dijk's header on 35 minutes before Tijjani Reijnders turned the game around six minutes after the restart. Xavi was introduced in the 70th minute for his 33rd cap as Oranje saw out the victory in Amsterdam.

Overnight in Buenos Aires, Cuti led his nation out against Mauritania and played the full game on his 48th cap as first-half strikes from Enzo Fernandez and a stunning Nico Paz free-kick put La Albiceleste in command at the Estadio Alberto J. Armando.

Lionel Messi's introduction at half-time meant he took over as captain in a second half where the African side refused to give up against the World Cup holders and Jordan Lefort grabbed a late consolation in stoppage-time.

Back in Europe, Pedro Porro was an unused substitute as Spain beat Serbia 3-0 thanks to Mikel Oyarzabal's first-half double and Victor Munoz at Estadio de la Ceramica.

Dominic Solanke lined up alongside Djed Spence as England conceded late to draw 1-1 with Uruguay in an international friendly at Wembley Stadium on Friday evening.

Making his first start for the Three Lions, Dom admirably led the line with the striker linking the play nicely, constantly harrying the opposition backline and bringing a save from Fernando Muslera with a looping header in a busy and bustling 56 minutes on his fourth cap.

Djed, also earning cap number four, impressed in his left-back role with a typically dynamic performance and combined well with Marcus Rashford down the left flank to cause the Uruguay defence problems, with one dazzling piece of skill being likened to a certain former Spurs number 14.

Our number 24 came off on 69 minutes as substitute Ben White later opened the scoring and his international account with a tap-in at the back post from a corner in the 81st minute which set up a chaotic end to the contest.

Marcelo Bielsa's side rode their luck at times - Ronald Araujo perhaps fortunate to escape a sending off for a sliding challenge on Phil Foden in the second half - but equalised with their first shot on target when Federico Valverde dispatched a late penalty in stoppage-time. Federico Vinas - who was fouled by White for the spot-kick - then almost won it for the visitors right at the death only for a great block by Harry Maguire.

Up next, Dom and Djed's nation host Japan at Wembley on Tuesday 31 March (kick-off 7.45pm) in what will be England's last outing on home soil before this summer's 2026 World Cup in United States, Canada and Mexico.

In Young Lions action on Friday, Archie Gray and Ashley Phillips were unused substitutes as England Under-21s salvaged a late 1-1 draw in Andorra with Rico Lewis scoring a 90th-minute penalty. This was the first time Lee Carsley's side have dropped points in European Under-21 Championship qualifying after six games in Group D. They host Moldova on Tuesday night (kick-off 7pm UK).

Meanwhile, in Group B, James Wilson entered the action for Scotland Under-21s on the hour-mark in their goalless draw with Czech Republic.

Earlier, Callum Olusesi started on his first appearance for England Under-20s in their 3-3 draw in a friendly against Italy in Rome. The young midfielder was replaced at half-time with his side leading 2-0 at the break in what was their only game this international window.

Here is the ticket information for our Premier League trip to Aston Villa on Saturday 2 May* (kick-off 12.30pm UK).

*Please note that this fixture will move to Sunday 3 May (kick-off 7pm UK) should Aston Villa reach the UEFA Europa League semi-finals.

Ticket information

All Season Ticket Holders can now apply online by clicking here or by submitting an application form, which can be obtained from the Ticket Office no later than 5pm on Monday 30 March. In the event that tickets are oversubscribed for this match, they will be allocated in line with the club's ticketing point scheme.

For this fixture, we will be issuing our allocation as digital tickets. As for home games, a link will be sent to the assigned supporter via email to download their ticket to their Apple/Google Wallet. This link will be sent to the individual successful Season Ticket Holder and not to the lead applicant. Any supporter who is successful with their application and who does not have a compatible device will be able to submit a request to receive a paper ticket. These requests will be monitored, and the ticket may only be available to collect on the day of the fixture at Villa Park on production of photographic ID.

Important information

Supporters under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult when entering Villa Park.

Next up in the Barclays Women’s Super League sees us make a short trip to Arsenal on Saturday evening.

Here’s all you need to know ahead of the north London derby at the Emirates…

What time does the match start?

The game begins at 5.30pm UK time.

How can I watch the game?

Supporters in the UK will be able to watch the action live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Ultra HDR.

If you’re following us from overseas, check out our here to see if the game is live in your area.

Our Match Centre here on tottenhamhotspur.com and the Spurs Official app will bring you full live text throughout the match, while video highlights will be available on club channels from four hours after the full-time whistle, with a full match replay on SPURSPLAY from midday the next day.

What is the team news?

Toko Koga and Maika Hamano are back and available for Saturday’s clash in north London after their Asian Cup triumph with Japan.

Defender Ella Morris is also in contention to be selected for the matchday squad for the trip to Arsenal after recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Clare Hunt, as mentioned last weekend, will undergo surgery on her right knee following an injury picked up with Australia during the Asian Cup.

Jess Naz, Maite Oroz and Luana Buhler remain long-term absentees.

After featuring for the Matildas in the Asian Cup, Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord have returned to Arsenal and in contention, while Renee Slegers confirmed that Saturday's game comes too soon for defender Leah Williamson.

Who is the referee?

Grace Lowe will referee the game on Saturday, assisted by Georgia Ball and Isabel Chaplin.

Faral Hallam will be the fourth official.

Ticket information

All Season Ticket Holders can now apply online by clicking here or by submitting an application form, which can be obtained from the Ticket Office no later than 5pm on Monday, 30 March. In the event that tickets are oversubscribed for this match, they will be allocated in line with the club's ticketing point scheme.

For this fixture, we will be issuing our allocation as digital tickets. As for home games, a link will be sent to the assigned supporter via email to download their ticket to their Apple/Google Wallet. This link will be sent to the individual successful Season Ticket Holder and not to the lead applicant. Any supporter who is successful with their application and who does not have a compatible device will be able to submit a request to receive a paper ticket. These requests will be monitored, and the ticket may only be available to collect on the day of the fixture at Molineux on production of photographic ID.

Important information

Children aged 14 or under must be accompanied by someone aged 18 or over.

The Premier League broadcast selection process for Matchweek 35 has been completed, with a change made to our trip to Aston Villa.

Our visit to Villa Park on Saturday 2 May now has a new kick-off time of 12.30pm and will be live on TNT Sports. Please note, this match will move to 7pm on Sunday 3 May should Aston Villa reach the UEFA Europa League semi-finals.

The change is as below...

Cathinka Tandberg knows exactly what it means to play in a north London derby.

Having suffered back-to-back defeats in the Women’s Super League for the first time this season, we’ll look to return to winning ways this weekend and there is no better fixture to do that in than against our local rivals Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening.

Although there’s no denying the Gunners’ strong run of form since the turn of the year, who have yet to be defeated or concede in 2026 in the league, we still remain on course to record one of our best-ever finishes in England’s top flight and head into the clash with plenty of confidence and belief.

Only three points off our record for most points achieved in a single season (32 in 20212/22), a victory would also see us close the gap to our north London neighbours to three points ahead of our final three games of the campaign.

Following Spurs as a youngster in Sweden, Tinka understands what this fixture means to our Lilywhite fanbase and is looking to build on our goalless draw with Arsenal at Brisbane Road earlier in the season.

“We know it means a lot for the Club, for the fans that support us, especially when I played in that game [in the reverse fixture earlier this season], we saw how many fans that came and how much it meant to people,” she told us, previewing the clash.

“We got a great result from that and I think we're going into this game with good confidence and just know that we're a good team, but also I know how it is as a fan that has supported Spurs and every time we played against Arsenal, it was like ‘we have to win’. So, I just know how much it means and I know how big the north London derby is, so it will be exciting and I loved playing these games.”

While it was a disappointing 5-2 defeat at Manchester City last weekend, the Norway international acknowledged the positive display in the second half, where we created a number of good opportunities against the league leaders, but outlined that her and her team-mates need to be ready from the first minute on Saturday.

“We know we have good qualities; we saw in the second half against the league leaders that we can actually create a lot and, when we are switched on, we can actually play good football against the best teams.

“But we also know that we have to be switched on from minute one and I think that was the problem against City, we were not on, but we're ready and I feel I'm ready. So, we're just going into that game with lots of confidence and belief in ourselves.”

A packed evening of international football provided mixed results with a number of players in 2026 World Cup qualifying play-off action on Thursday night.

It was delight for Lucas Bergvall on his seventh appearance for Sweden as he helped them advance to one of four European World Cup qualifying play-off finals with a 3-1 win over Ukraine in Valencia, Spain.

The victory, in which Lucas played the final 12 minutes after replacing Yasin Ayari, sets up a winner-takes-all clash with Poland who defeated Albania in the other semi-final in Play-off Path B.

Sadly, it was heartbreak for both Radu Dragusin’s Romania and Jamie Donley’s Northern Ireland, who both fell short at the semi-final stage of the European qualifying play-offs.

Radu made his first appearance for his country since November, 2024 - his 28th in total - having missed the entire qualifying campaign due to an ACL injury. The defender played the full 90 minutes as Romania suffered a narrow 1-0 away loss to Turkey.

Donley, who is currently on loan at Oxford United, also started for his nation to earn his seventh senior cap for Northern Ireland and played 79 minutes in their 2-0 semi-final defeat away to Italy.

There was also disappointment for Ben Davies and Wales, who were knocked out on penalties by Bosnia & Herzegovina after the game ended 1-1 after extra time.

Despite being injured, Davies, who received his 100th cap for Wales in the October international break, was present on the Welsh bench supporting his teammates in their 4-2 defeat on penalties.

Finally, Tyrese Hall was an unused substitute as Jamaica reached one of the two inter-confederation play-off finals with a 1-0 victory over New Caledonia. A win in the Pathway 1 final against DR Congo on Tuesday will see Jamaica slotted into Group K at this summer’s tournament.

Elsewhere, Randal Kolo Muani was named among the substitutes for France’s friendly against Brazil at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, but did not feature as Les Bleus managed to defeat Carlo Ancelotti’s side 2-1 despite playing the majority of the second half with 10 men.

In action on Friday 27 March

Tyrese Hall – Jamaica 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification play-off against New Caledonia in Mexico – kick-off 3am

Callum Olusesi – England Under-20s away friendly against Italy – kick-off 3.30pm

Kevin Danso – Austria home friendly against Ghana – kick-off 5pm

Xavi Simons and Micky van de Ven – Netherlands home friendly against Norway – kick-off 7.45pm

Dominic Solanke and Djed Spence – England home friendly against Uruguay – kick-off 7.45pm

Pedro Porro – Spain home friendly against Serbia – kick-off 8pm

Archie Gray and Ashley Phillips – England Under-21s away European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Andorra – kick-off 6.30pm

James Wilson – Scotland Under-21s home European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Czech Republic – kick-off 7pm

Cristian Romero – Argentina home friendly against Mauritania – kick-off 11.15pm