England 0-0 United States
Above: Jess Naz shielding the ball from Casey Krueger Photo: Lionesses on X.
By Christopher Heath at Wembley Stadium for Impetus (30/11/24)
From the sound of the whistle to signal the kick-off of the highly-anticipated clash between the top two FIFA-ranked nations in the world, the sheer force of physicality by the defending Olympic champions, the United States, was on show for everyone to witness at Wembley Stadium.
Defenders Casey Krueger and Emily Sonnett were the pair of defensive culprits, however, it would be Sam Coffey who caught the eye of referee Lina Lehtovaara shortly before the quarter-hour, with the Finnish official directing the first booking of the game in the direction of the midfielder for a tactical foul on the marauding Alessia Russo, as the Arsenal striker menacingly looked to make her way deep into American territory.
Without the services of their accustomed front three, Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson or Sophia Smith – with all three not in Emma Hayes’ squad that hadn’t travelled across the pond – the visitors looked to build their footballing foundations from the opposite end of the field. Their approach seemed to work, as all three shots on target in the first half fell the USWNT’s way. First, Mary Earps kept out Alyssa Thompson in the 5th minute and then replicated her earlier expertise by denying Krueger and Coffey before half-time.
That aforementioned physicality nearly built the United States a foundation immediately following the restart. Lindsey Horan – scorer of the game’s only goal against the backdrop of the Parc des Princes versus Brazil in the 2024 Olympic Games final – had the ball into the back of the net, but rightly, in terms of regulations, saw her effort chalked off for an infringement against the offside rule.
Hoping for a tale of two halves, England manager Sarina Wiegman would have arguably been disappointed – due to the fact the Lionesses managed to call visiting keeper Alyssa Naeher into action only once – throughout the contest under the arch of Wembley Stadium in front of a crowd of 78,346.
On the other boot, London-born Hayes will likely have ridden the emotional rollercoaster of frustration and disappointment when the final whistle went after registering eight attempts on goal compared to the hosts’ two. Not to forget, a combination of VAR and the on-pitch monitor persuaded referee Lehtovaara to overturn her decision to award the United States a penalty after initially judging the ball to have struck Alex Greenwood’s outstretched arm via a deflection off her midriff.
Teams: ENGLAND (4-3-3): Earps, Bronze, Williamson, Greenwood, Carter, Walsh, Stanway, Park, Naz, Mead, Russo. Substitutes used: Kirby (for Park 75’), Kelly (for Naz 75’).
UNITED STATES (4-3-3): Naeher, Fox, Sonnett, Girma, Krueger, Lavelle, Coffey, Horan, Thompson, Williams, Sears. Substitutes used: Ryan (for Sears 46’), Shaw (for Williams 73’), Thompson (for Albert 73’), Sentnor (for Horan 87’).
Referee: Lena Lehtovaara (FIN)
Attendance: 78,500.
impetusfootball.org 