Sarina Wiegman had already highlighted where England need to improve long before Emma Hayes and the United States landed in London ahead of Saturday’s marquee clash at Wembley. While Hayes has enjoyed her return to her hometown, pouring pints in the Camden music venue she visited in her youth, and the USA have celebrated Thanksgiving week, the Lionesses have been hard at work preparing for the visit of the Olympic champions. England have another chance to get it right. It surely can’t go as wrong as the defeat to Germany last month.
But that depends on whether Wiegman’s side have learnt their lessons. Germany exposed England tactically and the Lionesses made “unforced errors” in a 4-3 defeat that has to now serve as a wake-up call ahead of their European Championship defence in Switzerland next summer. England will not challenge for the title if their approach with and without the ball is as sloppy as it was against Germany. With the USA and, by the luck of the Nations League draw, Spain to play at Wembley before Euro 2025, there’s a sense that England could do with winning a “high-level game” while producing a tactically astute display.
