Sarina Wiegman pleased with England's defensive progress in 'intense' USA stalemate | OneFootball

The battling Lionesses earned a first clean sheet in five games against the Olympic champions at Wembley

Sarina Wiegman said the Lionesses showed they have improved defensively in their stalemate against the USA.

England earned a goalless with Emma Hayes’s reigning Olympic champions at Wembley on Saturday evening.

While the Lionesses created little by way of scoring chances, they were markedly better defensively than in October’s matches against Germany and South Africa, when lax passes out from the back were seized upon.

“We were defending as a team very strongly. They were trying to create overloads; I think we defended that well.

“What we had last month is that we had moments where we would just pass and lose it when there was no pressure at all. I think we still had some moments [tonight] when we lost the ball where we really shouldn’t lose it. But that’s also football.

“I think we did [defend] a lot better. When you lose it and you’re very expansive, of course you become very vulnerable. We could not afford that today, so I think we did that a lot better.”

The official attendance of 78,346 fans at Wembley was a new world record for a women’s international friendly.

Wiegman lauded the support, saying: “Of course, that is incredible. I will never take that for granted. It’s so special to be here at Wembley, playing the USA. A high-intensity game, a huge crowd. These are the games you want to play.”