LONDON — It’s not often when a big game lives up to the moment. It’s even more rare when the moment needs a game like today. After a harrowing week in women’s soccer, Friday night at Wembley Stadium met the moment. Spectacle, catharsis, showcase, solidarity: Whatever the sport needed, the U.S. women’s national team delivered with courage, and England delivered an entertaining 2–1 win.
When Sally Yates’s damning 319-page report on emotional and sexual abuse in the NWSL sent shockwaves through the sports world Monday, the initial thought about Friday’s long-anticipated London friendly was one of concern. Maybe the game was coming at the wrong time. Maybe we needed more space before a game of this magnitude to reflect and heal and direct the wholly justified anger into the proper channels.
And then you heard the resolute words of Megan Rapinoe on Thursday calling out to find joy in a dark moment. And saw Wembley Way buzzing with England fans heading to the stadium two hours before the match, wearing England-themed cowboy hats and belting ‘Sweet Caroline,’ the nation’s anthem to two magical European summer runs. And remembered that a women’s friendly at the iconic Wembley Stadium sold out less than 24 hours after it was announced, two whole months before the actual match.
