England 0-0 USA

WEMBLEY – The Camden accent wasn’t out of place but much else about Emma Hayes’ homecoming had the potential to confuse England. As they held the USA to a stalemate, they will look back on this as a much improved defensive display but one that did not answer looming questions about their creativity.

Back on the familiar turf, Hayes set the tone with a pair of colorful shoes and almost started singing his own national anthem. Her tenure is not only set to be fascinating as it is her first in international management, having left Chelsea after 12 glittering years.

The effect has been immediate and guides her adopted nation to Olympics gold in Paris this summer, and instill a new will to play in youngsters – partly imposed by the four-time world champions who ended up so desperate at the 2023 World Cup.

Still, missing Sophia Smith and experimenting with a host of youngsters, there was no sign of the lukewarmness that sometimes plagued England in front of an improved crowd of 78,346.

Leaning towards an Americanism, Hayes’ early priority has been to build “the roster”, hoping that Emma Sears (23), Jaedyn Shaw and Alyssa Thompson (both 20) will be key to her regime for years to come, while others retire – Alyssa Naeher made her penultimate appearance in goal before hanging up her gloves. 17-year-old Lily Yohannes earned a place on the bench after recently declaring her allegiance following the draw with the Netherlands.

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If England fail to defend their European crown next summer, the accusation leveled at them will be that they did not use their friendlies and dead rubbers effectively enough to trial new personnel. There were glimpses of tinkering here but Jesse’s Naz and Park struggled to penetrate a well-organized American unit.

The big plus for the Lionesses was a rare, resilient clean sheet – their first of the calendar year. Mary Earps and Lucy Bronze impressed, the latter tested in a series of 1v1s with Thompson.

Earps, making his second straight start after losing No. 1 shirt for Hannah Hampton due to a combination of a hip injury and form, Thompson and Casey Krueger countered from close range to become England’s man of the match.

Sarina Wiegmans Another remaining conundrum is how her side, accustomed to having so much more of the ball, should handle this caliber of opposition. It remains difficult to know exactly what the midfield will look like at Euro 2025, ending with Fran Kirby on the pitch after England had lacked cohesion there all evening.

These are the world’s two highest-ranked teams but there were moments when the hosts looked overwhelmed; as the USA peppered Earp’s goal, the danger could have been averted if the Lionesses had been prepared to push higher and take the initiative. Alex Greenwood rightly got his opportunity at left-back, but Beth Mead did just as much defensively on that side.

It is no wonder, however, that England are hesitant to be bolder given recent history. The alarm bells from kamikaze defensive display i 4-3 loss to Germany here last month still called.

Even the prospect of facing the Olympic champions was another chastening reality check; Team GB didn’t make it to that tournament at all thanks to England’s underwhelming performance in the Nations League.

There were near misses – Lindsey Horan was ruled offside after poking the ball past Earps and a nonsense penalty given to Greenwood for handball overturned by VAR. This week Hayes and her players spent Thanksgiving in London but perhaps it was England who will have come away counting their blessings, satisfied but with plenty to reflect on when they finish 2024 against Switzerland at Bramall Lane on Tuesday.