England head to Tokyo ahead of Women’s World Championship

England Women head to Japan this weekend to prepare for their Nissin Foods 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship campaign that gets underway next Saturday.

The 2026 Women’s World Championship begins Friday 24 July with the tournament opening ceremony and opening fixture featuring hosts Japan before England open their tournament the day after against Puerto Rico.

The World Championship bronze medallists have also been drawn alongside Scotland and Argentina after being placed into Pool C as one of the top four seeds for the tournament.

England’s Women will spend a number of days acclimatising to their surroundings before facing Puerto Rico, ranked 11th in the world, for the first time at a major championship, following their maiden meeting as part of a Florida Tour in the lead up to the 2022 World Championship where England ran out 17-5 winners.

That will be followed by a meeting against far more familiar opposition as England face Scotland in the pool stages for a third consecutive World Championship - the nation England also beat in the semi-final of the 2024 European Championship on the way to the gold medal.

England will round off Pool C with a first ever competitive meeting against 26th-ranked Argentina, and indeed an inaugural meeting between the two countries in international lacrosse as the countries aim for a top two finish to advance to the next stage.

The Women’s World Championship heads to Japan and Tokyo for a second time, following the 1997 edition of the tournament where England finished in 3rd place.

The 16 qualified teams were grouped using a seeded draw with the top four seeds (United States, Canada, England, and Japan) placed in Pools A to D and the remaining 12 teams drawn by pots into the four pools at random.

The top two teams in each pool will advance to the quarter final playoffs with England’s Pool C lined up to face a team from Pool A, including reigning champions USA, Haudenosaunee, Ireland and Chinese Taipei.

See England’s 22-player World Championship squad HERE

England Pool C Fixtures

Saturday 25 July - England x Puerto Rico - 3.30pm (Local) - 7.30am (UK)
Monday 27 July - England x Scotland - 3.30pm (Local) - 7.30am (UK)
Tuesday 28 July - England x Argentina - 9am (Local) - 1am (UK)

All matches are available to watch via WorldLacrosseTV - A pass covering every game can be bought for $43.99.

Other Pools

Pool A
Haudenosaunee
Ireland
Chinese Taipei
United States

Pool B
Australia
Canada
Germany
Wales

Pool D
Czechia
Israel
Japan
Philippines