New faces fail to impress, Earps returns to form

LONDON — England and the United States women’s national team played out a 0-0 draw at Wembley on Saturday evening.

In a tense affair, it was the USWNT had the better chances to break the deadlock. The hosts were without the likes of Lauren James and Lauren Hemp, while the USWNT travelled to Europe without their “Triple Espresso” front three of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson. So, it was two teams giving a few fringe players the opportunity at a near-sold out Wembley, and it was the USWNT who were had the bulk of possession in the first-half, dangerous in attack play, but lacking the finishing touch.

England had to wait until the 55th minute to have their first effort on target. Lindsay Horan had a goal disallowed in the 48th minute for offside, while one of the big talking points came just after the hour mark when the USWNT were awarded a penalty for what was deemed to be an Alex Greenwood handball that blocked Yazmeen Ryan‘s long-range shot. In the end, intervention from VAR saw it rightly reversed.

With England seven months out from the start of the Euros where they’ll look to defend their crown, you feel they’re still a way off top form. For the USWNT, this was yet another match where they were assured, and had the chance to test their strength in depth.

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Ryan and Shaw impact, but USWNT still miss “Triple Espresso” energy

Let’s start with a glass half empty perspective: The USWNT went scoreless for the first time since July.

This is perhaps not a shock when you consider that the team was missing the lethal “Triple Espresso” trio of Smith, Rodman and Swanson, who are all resting after lingering injuries. Without their star figures, an experimental front three of Alyssa Thompson, Lynn Williams and Emma Sears weren’t able to create enough danger against England. But, glass half full: Improvements were immediately seen through attacking subs such as Jaedyn Shaw and Ryan.

Ryan, despite her involvement in just one half, looked like the most dangerous player of the game. The 25-year-old was brilliant off the bench and a dynamic figure in the final third. The same could be said for Shaw, a versatile up-and-comer from the San Diego Wave that was proactive in her cameo role.

Hayes knows that she can’t count on all of her marquee figures game-in and game-out, and a big part of her job going forward is finding the right alternative options that could step in to fully fill the glass of the USWNT attack. — Hernandez

What are England all about, anyway?

First, the good news: England looked more assured in defence than they did against Germany. Wiegman switched between a back four when England were without the ball, and a back three when they were attacking. It meant they looked more settled, and kept out a dangerous USWNT side. Given the Lionesses had kept just four cleansheets in their previous 19 matches heading into Saturday’s game, keeping out the USWNT is a positive step forward.

Now the parts of England that remain a concern. Their ability to play out from the back causes themselves all sorts of self-inflicted havoc, while their midfield lacked presence. And their few attempts on goal were rarely generated through the slick attacking play displayed by the USWNT. This was an England team without Hemp, James, Maya Le Tissier and Ella Toone, and their absence told. There was room for others to impress: with Jessica Naz starting on the wing, and Jessica Park taking the No.10 spot, but neither put down markers to justify more minutes at this stage.

“I think it has been a tough year, with a few tough results, but we know what we can do as a group,” said Mary Earps after the match. “It is about figuring out how we can play.

“That’s the thing with friendlies, you can experiment with a few things. Drawing against the Olympic champions is no small thing, but we want to be winning those games.”

Overall, you feel England are still trying to find the intensity and ability to suffocate opponents that we’ve seen in the past. While this was a decent result all told and a step forward for England, as Wiegman’s team look to peak at the right time for the Euros, they’re not yet at their best. — Hamilton

England’s attack fails to spark

England’s attack throughout the evening was frantic and chaotic. Wiegman wanted to try new things and was forced into two changes due to regular starters Lauren Hemp and Ella Toone suffering injuries. England were still without Lauren James, who has not played for England since April. In fact, Wiegman had only selected five forwards in her 25-player squad.

Hemp, who has been vital to the Lionesses’ successes and arguably one of The Lionesses’ most reliable players, left a gaping hole in the attack. Despite having an impressive start to Manchester City‘s season, club teammate Park could not effectively fill the void, leaving the attack disjointed and lacking in rhythm.

Hemp is England’s fastest player and without her pace to stretch USA’s calm defence, there was little strain placed on the visiting defenders. The positional change to move usual winger Beth Mead into a wing-back role also proved counterproductive for England as they tried to generate attacks, leaving her vital attacking threat sitting far too deep to make an effective impact.

England only managed their first and only shot on target in the 55th minute, having struggled throughout the first half to generate anything in front of goal. A flurry of opportunities followed suit in the second half but was squandered by England’s lack of connectivity in the USA’s box. The introduction of Chloe Kelly, who has struggled for minutes with City, and Fran Kirby injected more urgency into the side, but were unable to break the deadlock, leaving Wiegman with more questions than answers.

Throughout the 90 minutes, England only had 14 touches in the box, four shots and only one on target. In comparison, the USA had 40 touches, 10 shots and four on target, reflecting the stark differences in attack for the two teams. — Keogh

Naeher earns shutout in possible final game

It wasn’t the most difficult of matches when you consider that she just needed to make one save and one aerial claim, but veteran goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher can hold her head high with a clean sheet in what could be the final game of her USWNT career.

Earlier this week, the 36-year-old announced that the matches against England and the Netherlands (on Dec. 3) would be the last with the national team. “Having the opportunity to be a part of the USWNT for the past 15 years has been the greatest honor,” said Naeher, who also noted her involvement with U.S. youth national teams.

The Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup winner could be given one more match against the Netherlands, but with a shutout in hand and family watching from the stands at Wembley, her most recent game and clean sheet could be an appropriate goodbye for the goalkeeper.

Post-game to TNT Sports, she also had a message for the next generation of USWNT stars.

“Soak it all in, be a sponge, don’t take anything for granted. I think that’s what kept me going,” said Naeher. “For those young ones coming in, nothing is guaranteed in this sport and soak it all in and enjoy every minute of it.” — Hernandez

Lionesses need more dominance in midfield

It was two very different narratives for the midfield on Saturday evening, and England could learn a lot from the visitor’s controlled and dominant approach. The hosts were completely unable to play through their midfield, meaning their game was non-transitional and lacked control. It should be rather alarming that after striding to a European victory and World Cup final, the Lionesses have sunk, unable to really challenge the Olympic Champions in a game where the hosts would have been looking to assert dominance.

England’s opportunities to use their midfield to effect were sparse, with positioning issues and under-hit passes also generating further concerns for England seven months ahead of the start of their title-defending Euros campaign.

The USA were the exact opposite: controlled, comfortable and executing their game plan to keep Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway contained. Veterans Rose Lavelle and Lindsey Horan were able to conduct an effortless dominance in the middle, ensuring build-up play was swift and pinpoint. Their pair even combined to have the ball in the back of the net, but Horan was adjudged to be offside.

Their pressing was also a stark contrast to England’s. The USA rushed the hosts, allowing them no time on the ball to gather themselves, often forcing them into snap, poor decision-making and keeping consistent pressure applied. In retaliation, England could not press Hayes’ side to any effect.

Wiegman will need to devise a plan to improve their dominance and transitional play if England are to retain their Euros crown. — Keogh

Earps back as England’s No.1

Against Germany, it looked like Hannah Hampton had established herself as England’s new number one. Wiegman was adamant it was all part of the pre-Euros experimentation and sure enough, Mary Earps was restored for the USWNT match.

It’s hard to overstate the Earps fandom when it comes to the Lionesses. As you walked down Wembley Way before the match, her name and image was everywhere: on Christmas jumpers, on scarves. Pre-match, her name got a roar from the crowd to rival Leah Williamson‘s.

Earps was the far busier of the two goalkeepers too, for the most part – making a good early save off an Alyssa Thompson shot, and saving well to deny Krueger in the first half. The second half was more of the same, with Earps palming away a Ryan effort, and while there was some last-minute scrambling in front of her, England looked more assured with Earps at the back than they did against Germany.

After the match, Earps was clearly pleased despite the result. “It’s about me going out there and being who I am. That’s all I try to do. Play with a smile on my face and that’s what I will start to do.” — Hamilton