England were held to a goalless draw by the United States at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, with the visitors seeing Lindsey Horan’s second-half strike disallowed for offside before a pitchside review saw their appeals for a penalty waved away by the referee.
The USWNT, coached by ex-Chelsea boss Emma Hayes, started well in the first half and outclassed the Lionesses, who failed to register a shot on target before the break.
Lindsey Horan’s celebrations were short-lived after her goal was ruled out for offside early in the second half, with the momentum swinging in the hosts’ favour from that point onwards. Calls for handball against Alex Greenwood were dismissed following a pitchside review, allowing England to cling on for a share of the spoils against the Olympic champions under the infamous Wembley arch despite a closely-contested period late on.
As it happened
Both sides were able to force chances early on under the Wembley arch in front of a 78,346-strong crowd on Saturday, with Tottenham’s Jess Naz finding space on the right flank to force a save from Alyssa Naeher. Mary Earps was soon called into action too, denying Alyssa Thompson after a fine cross from Emma Sears sailed through the penalty area.
But despite a competitive midfield battle as the match matured, chances became fewer and further between. Casey Krueger’s effort shortly after the half-hour mark was parried away by Earps after neat linkup play between Lindsey Horan and Thompson allowed Emma Hayes’ side to break forward quickly, and while Sears was able to keep the chance alive, it was ultimately blazed over the crossbar.
By half-time, the United States had ensured they were the dominant force in the match. Rose Lavelle attempted to create an opportunity for the opener with a delivery towards the back post, before Sam Coffey saw an effort from the edge of the box held by Earps in the dying stages of the half. England, however, headed into the break having failed to register a shot on target and with just two touches inside the USWNT’s box.
The visitors looked as if they’d broken the deadlock just four minutes into the second half, with Horan arriving to prod Lavelle’s initial effort over the line, only to find herself flagged offside by quite some distance as Emma Hayes was forced to briefly abandon her celebrations in the technical area. Her side had continued to build on their dominance, though, with half-time substitute Yazmeen Ryan appearing formidable on the right flank in lieu of Emma Sears. The Gotham FC forward sought to tee up Horan twice in the space of as many minutes, both with fine crosses from the wide area – the first was sent wide, with the second put behind for a corner by England’s Leah Williamson.
Embed from Getty ImagesEngland grew into proceedings as the hour mark neared at Wembley, with Jess Park granted space on the right to surge into and deliver a cross towards the back post that was nodded away by Emily Fox before the resulting corner was expertly claimed by Naeher after a Williamson header looked to threaten the goalkeeper. Georgia Stanway produced England’s best chance of the match thus far just minutes later; her rifled effort from the edge of the box was kept away by a headed clearance from Emily Sonnett.
The Lionesses looked, finally, to have control of proceedings when an apparent handball from Alex Greenwood threatened to swing the match back into the visitors’ favour. The Manchester City defender had been judged by referee Lina Lehtovaara to have handled Ryan’s strike inside the box, although a pitchside review saw the Finnish official overturn her initial decision, finding that the ball had first struck Greenwood’s chest before her arm.
Sarina Wingman’s side quickly resumed their search for the opener with crosses from both flanks, though Russo’s delivery from the right was dealt with by Naomi Girma before Mead sent her attempt wide of the far post as England’s spell of dominance began to fizzle out.
The USWNT ended this game as they had ended the first half: in complete control. Fox’s probing ball from deep was held by Earps, who found herself under immense pressure, just moments before Williamson was called upon to turn Lavelle’s ball across the face of goal wide of the post. There would be a momentary panic for the England backline as inside the final five minutes, Jess Carter looked to turn the ball past her own goalkeeper as she miscalculated her clearance from yet another Fox delivery, though Earps was able to pick up the pieces to avert the crisis.
A share of the spoils against the reigning Olympic champions will likely please Sarina Wiegman, who had come under fire in recent months as her side appeared to grow stale. The Lionesses’ final match of 2024 will see them face Switzerland at Bramall Lane on Tuesday, with kickoff at 19:45 GMT.
The lineups
ENG: Earps; Carter, Greenwood, Williamson, Bronze; Park, Walsh, Stanway; Naz, Russo, Mead
USA: Naeher; Krueger, Girma, Sonnett, Fox; Horan, Coffey, Lavelle; Thompson, Williams, Sears