England VS USA: What to expect...

Image: Georgia Stanway celebrating last time out against USA Credit: The Independent

By Sophie Hodson (29/11/2024)

TEAMS

On the 30th November, the Olympic champions, the US Women's National Team, travel down to the famous fortress, Wembley Stadium, where they take on the Lionesses in a friendly match. USA, ranked no1 in the world, will go into this

match in excellent form having won their 5 previous matches, but this could be their hardest test since the Olympics. Whilst the Lionesses, ranked second in the world, have won 3 of their last 5 matches with all 3 of those victories resulting in a 2-1 score line. This iconic rivalry never fails to provide drama, and this Saturday night friendly should be an entertaining clash for the 80,000+ fans in attendance.

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

These two world class sides have had many significant encounters, their most recent one being just over two years ago at Wembley Stadium. The Lionesses beat the USA, who were world champions at this time, 2-1 on the back of winning the European Championships. The last time these teams faced in a tournament was at the 2019 World Cup semi-final, where Alex Morgan scored the winning header to defy the Lionesses of a space in the final. Saturday marks the 20th showdown between the sides; we can expect an exciting performance from both teams!

MANAGMENT

USA and England each have renowned head coaches- two of the best in the business. Sarina Wiegman for England and Emma Hayes for the USA. They have both been nominated alongside each other for multiple prestigious awards such as the ‘2024 Ballon d’Or Coach of the Year Awards’ and ‘The Best FIFA Women’s Coach Award 2023’. Despite this, Saturday will be the first time these coaches come up against each other which will be an iconic sight under the arch.

Emma Hayes, born in London, will make a special return to her home country where she has recently spent twelve years with the English side, Chelsea F.C Women. While in South London, Hayes presented pure dominance with Chelsea across the English leagues, creating a respected name for herself. She led the team to 16 trophies under her management, with 7 of these being the FA Women’s Super League trophy- 5 of those WSL wins were in consecutive years from the 19/20 season until the 23/24 season.

Just months after leaving Chelsea at the end of the 23/24 season, she led the Stars and Stripes to Olympic gold after being with them for only a minimal period of time. Perhaps this is just an insight into what Hayes can achieve with this side as she continues to develop their squad.

Sarina Wiegman, who extended her contract until 2027 at the start of this year, has had her share of international success, winning the Euros with both England and the Netherlands as Manager. The 55 year old is a former Dutch national team

player herself, and then went on to coach the Netherlands until England came calling. Wiegman has also experienced life in America, having spent a season playing for the University of North Carolina, where she helped the team to achieve the NCAA Championship trophy in 1989.

ABSENCES

There is no hiding from the fact that both sides are suffering the loss of critical players due to injuries. The Lionesses have 5 key players unavailable to play, a major miss being winger Lauren Hemp. Similarly, the US Women’s National Team is also without some pivotal players. “Triple espresso”, a group name for Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman are some big names not on this international camp. They were all crucial goal scorers in their Olympic campaign this summer.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Both sides currently have a mix of experience and fresh talent in their squads, with some future stars potentially having the opportunity to perform in the spotlight on one of the world's biggest stages. However, it is also likely that both lineups will consist of some of the decorated and experienced players such as Lucy Bronze, Lindsey Horan, and Millie Bright. Additionally, there are a few names that have shone in previous games and are exciting players to keep an eye out for on Saturday as shown below.

USA: Naomi Girma- described by her coach as “the best defender I have ever seen”. In January, the centre back of San Diego Wave FC, became the first defender to ever win the US Women’s Player of the Year award.

ENGLAND: Grace Clinton- Manchester United’s midfielder has displayed her incredible talent for club and country over the past few seasons. The Lioness scored on her England senior debut in February and has since scored another goal for her country.

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE GAME?

We can expect an exciting and closely tied match in which an enthusiastic home crowd will serve as the 12th player for the Lionesses. This highly anticipated game should be fuelled with intensity and individual battles as both teams search for the win. We could potentially witness debutants stepping onto the field for the first time for their country. We may also watch one of Alyssa Naeher’s last matches as the USA's long serving goalkeeper announced her retirement earlier this week on a career to be proud of. America start as favourites, but England will utilise their home turf advantage and put up an undoubtable fight against their

fierce rivals. Welcome home Emma!