That’s all for now. Thanks as always for following along with us and be sure to read Suzanne Wrack’s full match report from the ground in Orlando.
Full time: USA 2-0 England
And the United States have won 2-0 over England behind goals by Press and Lloyd in the SheBelieves Cup opener for both sides.
90 min+2: Relentless pressure from the US, to the last. They’re desperate for a third.
90 min: The fourth official signals for three minutes of added time.
89 min: One more sub for each side as Jessica McDonald comes on for Carli Lloyd and Chloe Kelly replaces Nikita Parris.
87 min: Very ponderous play from England over the last few minutes, kicking it about casually in the back third as if they were the team ahead 2-0 and not the other way around.
85 min: The US win a corner and take it quickly, but the delivery to Lloyd at the far post is overcooked and it’s out for an England throw-in.
81 min: Parris finds England in the center of the area and it’s a golden chance to cut the deficit in half, but she misfires on the half volley.
79 min: Amid a forest of England defenders, Lloyd threads a tight pass to a wide-open Ertz, who pounds it past Telford into the back of the net. But her celebration is correctly muted as the flag is up.
78 min: Chelsea star Beth England enters for Ellen White.
76 min: The US win a free kick from a dangerous area, center of the pitch about 22 yards from goal. Rapinoe steps up to take it but crushes it well over the bar into the stands. England almost immediately are dispossessed and Julie Ertz has a go from distance but her shot is off target.
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72 min: Lloyd creates a bit of space for herself in the area and rips a rising shot toward the upper right corner that sails over the crossbar by inches. Very nearly a third for the Americans and a double for the captain.
70 min: Two more subs for the United States and Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams enter for Tobin Heath and Rose Lavelle. England counter immediately with Toni Duggan coming on for Georgia Stanway.
67 min: Attacking center midfielder Rose Lavelle races back to her own 18-yard line to make a picturesque tackle on Hemp. The girl’s a bit special. It’s out for one corner then another, but England can’t get anything from either.
64 min: Neville makes his first chance of the night as Jordan Nobbs enters for Jill Scott.
61 min: Stanway is on the receiving end of a hard foul and she’s down in a heap, but makes it to her feet and will continue. Now the United States will make the first substitution of the night, inserting Megan Rapinoe for Christen Press.
57 min: Parris gets behind Sauerbrunn and it’s a moment of genuine danger for the US, but Naeher arrives in time to swallow it up.
GOAL! USA 2-0 England (Lloyd, 55 min)
And the Americans have doubled their pleasure through the veteran Carli Lloyd, who runs onto a perfect ball from Lindsey Horan and deposits from 10 yards for her 123rd international goal. England look washed.
when it comes to @CarliLloyd and scoring, it's bangers only thank you. pic.twitter.com/tw446gw8yw
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) March 6, 2020
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GOAL! USA 1-0 England (Press, 53 min)
A superb goal by Press, who curls it into the upper right corner from 25 yards. Sensational finish.
.@ChristenPress you absolute queen. pic.twitter.com/07vPxPAmHR
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) March 6, 2020
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52 min: England win a corner. It falls to Heath and she’s fouled by Stanway, who appeared to yank her ponytail and is lucky to escape without discipline.
49 min: England’s back four at sixes and sevens and Lloyd nearly capitalizes, only for her shot to be deflected out by Bright for a corner. Heath’s deliver finds an onrushing Horan, but the midfielder’s header sails over the crossbar.
46 min: And we’re back under way in Orlando as England move rapidly into the final third only to be turned away by O’Hara, who’s been typically excellent tonight.
Half-time: USA 0-0 England
And there’s the whistle for the intermission. When these sides last crossed paths in the World Cup semi-finals, they’d scored three goals by this point. They’ve combined for zero tonight, but certainly not for lack of trying. Plenty of chances both ways, though the Americans have looked dominant for longer stretches.
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45 min: The imperious Heath, still miffed from by the referee’s decision, backs her defender into the area before ripping a shot toward the near post that Telford saves. USA get nothing from the corner as Hemp is fouled in the box.
41 min: Press finds Dunn on an overlapping run up the left side but it’s swept out for a corner kick. Can the US finally break through for an opener here? They can’t as Heath’s delivery is partially clared by Houghton before Dunn’s second effort is hauled in by the overworked Telford.
38 min: A bit of a quiet patch over the last couple of minutes, by this match’s standards at least. Heath takes Greenwood on 1v1 at the edge of the area and she goes down in the box, but the referee doesn’t award the penalty despite jeers from the crowd and Heath’s irate protest from the ground.
You be the judge: Foul or no foul?#USAvENG | 0-0 pic.twitter.com/yIBamugYPx
— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) March 6, 2020
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32 min: Tobin Heath receives the ball in acres of space on the right edge of the area. She picks out Lloyd in the middle but her shot misses the mark. Feeling like only a matter of time before the Americans break through.
30 min: Moments after Naeher calmly saves an Ellen White effort from 25 yards, Lavelle makes a nifty move to beat Walsh and fires in a pass to Lloyd which the veteran strike can’t quite deposit home. The United States continue to dominate the action with nothing to show for their efforts after a half hour.
26 min: England win a corner and Walsh’s offering finds a seam in USA’s zonal marking, but Parris’s flick is corralled by Naeher.
23 min: Chance after chance for the world champions over the last couple of minutes. It’s hard to keep up. Dunn moments ago. Horan just now after yet another poor breakdown by the England back line. Carly Telford, who makes a double save to improbably keep things level, surely earning her paycheck tonight.
CARLY! 👐 pic.twitter.com/J8rx2rEvxF
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) March 6, 2020
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20 min: England nearly open the scoring against the run of play when Walsh finds Parris in the area, but her shot is headed directly to Naeher’s waiting hands. The lineswoman ruled it offside anyways.
18 min: Ertz, who’s earning her 100th cap tonight, is down in a heap after a rough challenge from Houghton. After a brief pause, she makes it to her feet and stays in the game. And lest we forget the obligatory proud husband mention:
Proud is an UNDERSTATEMENT!!! The 👑 is at 💯!! Earned not Given https://t.co/j3xi5yMqNe
— Zach Ertz (@ZERTZ_86) March 6, 2020
16 min: The US have been dominant so far but haven’t been able to put one in. Now Crystal Dunn surges forward into the area and is taken down by a clattering challenge but the referee says play on.
12 min: USA win another corner but Heath appears to mishit it and it’s easily cleared by England. A rollocking start to this one so far with no shortage of two-way action.
9 min: A marauding Hemp surges down the left and takes on O’Hara, crossing in to an onrushing White. Ertz arrives in the nick of time to head it away and Naeher is there to retrieve it.
7 min: England win a corner and Greenwood’s offering targets Bright on the far post, but she can’t direct it on goal and it’s out for a goal kick.
5 min: Lloyd, who’s making her 292nd appearance tonight, runs onto a through ball and has the first scoring chance of the night as the crowd swells, but Telford is quick off her line and turns it away. The offside flag was up, so it wouldn’t have counted regardless.
3 min: USA’s pressure is paying early dividends and England’s back four find themselves under duress in the early going. The Americans win a free kick from about 30 yards when Stanway commits a foul. Heath’s left-footed delivery curves dangerously into the area but it’s headed partially out before Ellen White kicks it clear.
1 min: And we’re off! The USA in all-blue kits are working from left to right, the Lionesses in all-white strips attacking from right to left. Already the United States showing a high press with Lloyd and Press.
The players are on the pitch. The anthems have been played. We should be under way any moment on a clear 82F (28C) evening in Orlando.
England are seeking a third win in their last eight games. The USA have won 11 out of 12, conceding just three goals, and haven’t lost in 14 months.
USA and England are set to kick off in about 10 minutes. Our Suzanne Wrack is on the ground in Orlando and checks in with the following dispatch:
In the fading light of downtown Orlando fans have begun to flow into the purple seats of the Exploria Stadium. A healthy smattering of fans braved the heat for the earlier fixture between Spain and Japan. The floodlights are on for the big one. This is the first meeting of the US and England since their World Cup semi-final encounter. There was a huge roar as the USWNT players entered the pitch to warm up. The big shock is that once again Megan Rapinoe sits this tie out. Then, it was with a hamstring strain. This time the forward is not injured but the US are being careful with the veteran star.
Neville has stuck to his guns in blooding young talent with Leah Williamson and Georgia Stanway in and 19-year-old Lauren Hemp making her first start. Beth England misses out on a start, presumably because she played in the intense Continental Cup final at the weekend ... then again, so did Millie Bright and Williamson.
A few days ago there were 12,000 tickets sold for this game, a fair way short of the 22,761 average achieved by MLS side Orlando City, but a leap on the 5,565 average achieved by Orlando Pride in 2019. Regardless on how full the stadium gets US Soccer have pulled out the stops outside the ground with free drinks, banner making, foot darts and more.
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The teams!
Here’s a look at tonight’s teams. Megan Rapinoe will start out on the bench for the world champions, while rising Manchester City star Lauren Hemp gets her first start for the Lionesses in a signpost of Phil Neville’s youth movement.
USA
XI: Naeher, O’Hara, Dahlkemper, Sauerbrunn, Dunn, Ertz, Lavelle, Horan, Heath, Lloyd, Press
Subs: Pugh, Mewis, Sullivan, Krieger, Davidson, Williams, Sonnett, Rapinoe, Harris, Short, Franch, McDonald
England
XI: Telford, Greenwood, Walsh, Houghton, Bright, Parris, Scott, Williamson, Stanway, White, Hemp
Subs: Daly, England, Nobbs, Duggan, Stokes, Roebuck, McManus, Staniforth, Russo, MacIver, Kelly, Fisk
Hello! Welcome to Orlando’s Exploria Stadium for the SheBelieves Cup match between USA and England. It’s the first meeting between these sides since last year’s cracking World Cup semi-final (a night Ellen White won’t soon forget) and the Lionesses will be out for revenge on opening night of the four-team, round-robin competition.
Kickoff is just under a half hour away so we’ll dispense with the throat-clearing and get to the team sheets directly.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Suzanne Wrack’s lookahead to today’s match.
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