The last time the United States Women’s National Team faced England’s Lionesses was in March 2020. It occurred at the SheBelieves Cup in Orlando, Florida, a matter of weeks before the world locked down in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Much has changed in those two-and-a-half years since. And when the Lionesses host the USWNT at a sold-out Wembley Stadium on Friday night, they will do so on a more equal footing than, perhaps, ever before.
The goalscorers in that handy 2-0 victory were Carli Lloyd and Christen Press - multiple titleists with the national team but part of a generation of players who are in the process of moving on. Lloyd has retired on over 300 international caps while the long-term international future of Press - currently out injured with a torn ACL is as yet unresolved.