2023 Queen Alexandra Exhibition Match
| England Men v England Women II | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The Wembley Stadium in London, England, where the exhibition match took place in front of a nearly 89,000 strong crowd | |||||||
| Event | 2023 Queen Alexandra Exhibition Match | ||||||
| |||||||
| Date | 12 September 2023 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, England | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Lauren Hemp (Lionesses) | ||||||
| Referee | Michael Oliver (England) | ||||||
| Attendance | 84,293 | ||||||
The 2023 Queen Alexandra Exhibition Match, alternatively titled England Men v England Women II, was a football match that took place on 12 September 2023. Considered to be the follow-up to the 2019 edition, the match was held at Wembley Stadium, London and pitted the England men's and women's teams captained by Harry Kane and Millie Bright, the latter standing in for the injured Leah Williamson.
Beginning at 10:00 am, the match began with the Lionesses initiating the kick-off. Early on, in just the 2nd minute, Lionesses forward Rachel Daly drew first blood to give her side an early lead. However, in the 16th minute, with assistance from fullback Trent Alexander-Arnold, The Three Lions captain Harry Kane scored to level the scoreline. Then, in the 24th minute, the Lionesses responded with forward Lauren Hemp scoring an individual goal to make it 2-1 before a goal from The Three Lions winger Phil Foden in the 45th minute resulted in the two sides being level at half-time. Then, in the 51st minute, with assistance from midfielder Chloe Kelly, Lauren Hemp provided her second goal to make it 3-2 as a subsequent attempt by Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 72nd minute failed to equalise for The Three Lions. Eventually, in the 81st minute, Lauren Hemp capped off a brilliant individual performance with a solo hat-trick that saw the Lionesses emerge triumphant once again, defeating The Three Lions 4-2. Almost immediately, Lauren Hemp was named player of the match for her remarkable hat-trick that proved crucial to her side's victory.
Despite the final scoreline, both sides once more traded a fairly equal amount of shots against the other although the Lionesses slightly dominated The Three Lions in terms of possession with 55% to the latter's 45%. Meamwhile, despite a series of fouls committed, only one yellow card was ever issued, namely towards The Three Lions midfielder Declan Rice in the 72nd minute.
For refereeing purposes, both Michael Oliver and Sian Massey-Ellis returned as head referee and assistant referee respectively. With an official attendance of 84,293, the occasion successfully raised a total of £4.2 million, the majority of which were later donated towards charity and used to better improve footballing facilities for both men and women. Much like its predecessor, the event was widely received, with particular praise directed towards Lionesses forward Lauren Hemp for her brilliant individual effort. Meanwhile, despite some initial assumptions, siblings Reece and Lauren James did not face each other in the match as Lauren was not included in the final lineup although Reece started the match before later being substituted for forward Tammy Abraham in the 52nd minute.