England 0-0 USA: Lionesses pass defensive test as Emma Hayes frustrated on Wembley return | OneFootball

A record crowd for a women’s international friendly watches high-profile rivals battle to stalemate

The two highest-ranked teams in the world, trading blows in front of 78,346 fans at Wembley. Adopted Englishwoman Sarina Wiegman versus an honorary American in Emma Hayes. This was billed as quite the occasion. And in its own way, it was.

The rich calibre of the opposition at Wembley limited the Lionesses to preciously little by way of chances of their own, but Wiegman already knows her team can score goals. Here, then, was evidence of a rather more welcome sort of progress, as their ability to defend resolutely was put to the test.

Clean sheet: England goalkeeper Mary Earps made a string of fine first-half saves to keep the Olympic champions at bay

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Concentration had at times wavered and combusted in October’s matches against Germany and South Africa — the Lionesses guilty of letting sloppy passes go awry, often to the opposition, and often with punishing consequences.

Not here. Jess Carter and Lucy Bronze put in lung-busting shifts at the back. Only once, when a mix-up saw Leah Williamson’s pass to Georgia Stanway cut out, did England look like slipping back into bad habits. In an interview with Standard Sport this week, Hayes admitted she was thinking about her own side and “not focused on England”. But the Lionesses did, in turn, need to pay close attention to her US team.

Mary Earps made saves to deny Alyssa Thompson, Casey Krueger and Sam Coffey in the first half, and England were relieved when Lindsey Horan’s offside goal was disallowed and a second-half penalty they conceded overturned — both times, the right decision.

For long periods, Wiegman’s players had to soak up condensed spells of American possession. When they had the chance to turn the ball over, they played through the visitors’ press well. A common theme, though, was their perennially being a pass or two away from creating a clear-cut chance of their own. Not one arrived.

Jessica Naz can be pleased with how she fared on her first start for her country, dropping back to help out defensively and keen to run at the US whenever she found space down the right. Plenty could be gleaned from the fact that Wiegman left the early substitutions to Hayes, only turning to her own bench in the 75th minute. She was contented by what she was watching; her side cancelled the Olympic champions out.

For a team who have lost to the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany since reaching the World Cup final some 15 months ago, that felt a triumph in itself.