Anna Thompson
BBC Sport at Wembley Stadium

Three recent retirees have received commemorative framed England shirts in a presentation by the side of the pitch and were warmly applauded by the crowd.

Gilly Flaherty (nine caps), Abbie McManus (18 caps) and Jodie Taylor (51 caps) received the gifts of appreciation from the FA's women's technical director Kay Cossington.

BBC One

Image source, Getty Images

By the way, England's final group game is against Scotland at Hampden Park next Tuesday is a match you can watch live on BBC One.

Will the Lionesses be travelling north with everything to play for?

Eilidh Barbour will present coverage at Hampden from 19:30 GMT, with kick-off at 19:45.

Lauren Hemp, who has played at an Olympics, Euros and World Cup, is just 23 years old.

Jen Beattie
Former Scotland defender on BBC Radio 5 Live

For me Lauren Hemp is such a big game player. She enjoys these moments and playing in the big games, she completely relishes in it.

To hit 50 caps at such a young age just shows the mentality and talent and level of skill that she has.

I'll never forget the season she signed for Man City, the hype around her coming from Bristol City. But the amount she has improved since is incredible and she is still so young. It is easy to forget that. When people speak about her it is as if she is a veteran, a 29-30 year old even.

She's always had that raw talent but she has developed the mentality to go with it.

Anna Thompson
BBC Sport at Wembley Stadium

The final touches are being applied and the sprinklers are given one last blast before the teams head out onto the Wembley pitch.

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

So, how did England end up in a must-win position?

Well, the top seeded side for the 2023-24 Nations League opened their campaign with a 2-1 win over Scotland in September, but four days later were dispatched by the Netherlands in a 2-1 defeat.

In October they slipped to a 3-2 loss to Belgium, but managed to beat the Red Devils 1-0 last month.

Two wins, two losses, two matches to go and it's still all to play for.

England can finish the Nations League anywhere from fourth to first in Group A1.

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport at Wembley

Image source, BBC Sport

The Lionesses will wear black armbands tonight in tribute to former England men's boss Terry Venables, who passed away recently.

Fans will be given an opportunity to celebrate him before kick-off as well and there will be further tributes in 2024 when the men's team return to Wembley for their next home international.

In the match programme is a lovely double-page spread with words from the Football Association.

They describe him as "a charismatic figure in football" and say he "left behind a myriad of wonderful footballing memories on and off the pitch."

Vicki Sparks
BBC commentator, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live

The Olympics is huge in women's football.

It is not underrated like it is in the men's game. I would say it is rated just under the World Cup in terms of importance.

Let's not forget that Sarina Wiegman delayed taking over the Lionesses for almost a year in order to lead the Netherlands at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, that is how highly people think of the competition.

So, if England fail to qualify on behalf of Team GB, it will be hugely, hugely disappointing.

Anna Thompson
BBC Sport at Wembley Stadium

Image source, PA Media

The England goalkeepers made their way out onto the Wembley turf first to warm-up and were followed about 10 minutes later by the rest of the squad.

It is a bitterly cold evening in north London but there is a decent crowd in early doors and there were huge cheers for Mary Earps when she ran onto the pitch.

Karen Bardsley
Former England and Manchester City goalkeeper on BBC Radio 5 Live

Mary Earps has been outstanding this year, especially at the World Cup where she was a real leader, and she deserves the chance to captain the side tonight.

She doesn't have to do anything different because she is wearing the armband. She has come up big in huge moments this year not least a penalty save in the World Cup final.

We may even see a tighter defensive performance with her in this role tonight.

In the absence of captain Leah Williamson and vice captain Millie Bright, goalkeeper Mary Earps will lead out the Lionesses at Wembley this evening.

The Manchester United stopper has been a key figure for the Lionesses this year, saving crucial penalties in the Women's Finalissima triumph over Brazil in April, and stopping a spot kick in the World Cup final defeat to Spain, a performance that contributed to her winning the tournament's Golden Glove award.

Earps' fine displays for club and country saw her voted BBC Women's Footballer of the Year earlier this week.

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport at Wembley

Right. This is complicated, bear with me...

There are much bigger implications from these two matches than just the Women's Nations League standings and Olympic qualification.

Results could also impact England's ability to qualify for the 2025 European Championship in Switzerland.

I won't dive into all the different scenarios now as it's all dependent on changes in results but essentially, England could be pulled into play-offs if they finish third in the group after these two matches.

Obviously their main aim at the moment is to secure Olympic qualification on behalf of Team GB for Paris 2024.

That means winning the group, then reaching the Nations League finals (or coming third if France are finalists).

They MUST win tonight to remain on track to do that.

Keeping up?

If you want to read more on Mead's gruelling 11-month ACL recovery, here's a feature I wrote last month.

Jen Beattie
Former Scotland defender on BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, Getty Images

It is amazing to see Beth Mead back at this level, I know full well first hand how excited she was to be back given that I play alongside her at club level.

We all know this is a must-win game for England tonight, a huge game, but what a player she is to have off the bench.

Coming into international football is a whole different ball game. From a sports science perspective England will be wanting to manage the load on Beth Mead at the minute and protect her. But I've no doubt she will get minutes tonight.

I hope we do get to see Beth Mead in the second half. It would mark a brilliant comeback.

Mead returning to the England squad and Wolf Hall series two confirmed. When it came to announcements, November really delivered.

This week Mead said she was "super proud" to be called up to England duty for the first time in a year.

The 28-year-old has recently recovered from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

"I'm so excited to be on a football pitch, I feel like a young kid again," the Arsenal forward said.

Karen Bardsley
Former England and Manchester City goalkeeper on BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, PA Media

According to the team sheet Lauren James is in the midfield and Fran Kirby wearing that shirt (the number nine) is making me think 'hmm I wonder what is going on there and what that means in terms of how this game could evolve tonight'.

If Beth Mead does get on the pitch tonight she will be absolutely chomping at the bit to make an impression.

Looking at the form of these players coming into this international break, Hemp is on fire, James and Niamh Charles combining down the left for Chelsea are too. It has been goals, goals, goals, so I am just hoping we see that in an England shirt.

Rich: Fascinating to see Wiegman choose to go into such a big game without a recognised centre-forward. Russo finally paying the price for all her missed chances, but Daly not trusted enough either to be the straight swap

England

England manager Sarina Wiegman speaking to ITV, about whether her team are ready to go: "I hope so. We've had a good week so far. We have to show up and we're ready to go."

On the decision to drop Alessia Russo to bench: "We want to attack and of course Lessi is an attacker too but I've chosen the players best in form. It was had a hard decision but these are the three we are starting with."

On Lauren James: "She's in good form. I hope what she has shown in the past weeks she's going to show for us too."

On the absence of Millie Bright: "It is a miss. We had to move on straight away. Alex [Greenwood] has a a lot of experience and Jess [Carter] has played a lot, as a starter and someone who has come on. She has experience for us and experience for Chelsea."

On Beth Mead: "Upfront we had many choices to make. The competition is high. Beth has done really well for Arsenal. We made a choice quickly but she's ready to go."

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport at Wembley

Image source, BBC Sport

There's a new feel to Wembley today.

As we walked into the media room, we were greeted with some new wallpaper, displaying some of Wembley's most iconic moments.

Amid numerous FA Cup and Legue Cup successes were both national teams' players and plenty of silverware won by the Lionesses.

Goalkeeper Mary Earps, who will captain England today, was in full display, as well as Leah Williamson, who captained the side to their Euro 2022 victory and the Finalissima success over Brazil - both at Wembley.

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

In fact, there's even the threat of relegation to League B hanging over the Lionesses.

Should England finish bottom of their group, they'll drop straight down to the Nations League's second tier.

If they finish third, they'll be involved in a relegation play-off with a side who finished second in one of the four League B groups.