England And United States Women’s Teams Show Solidarity For Abuse Victims At Wembley

On an historic night at a sold-out Wembley Stadium, the women’s European champions, England, and world champions, the United States came together at the end of a trying week to show their support to victims of sexual abuse throughout women’s sport.

The build-up to the game had been dominated by the fallout of the findings of the 172-page report released on Monday following an independent investigation by Sally Yates which revealed widespread abuse throughout the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

In a show of unity and common cause, the players of both teams took to the field wearing teal armbands, the recognized awareness color for Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention, to stand in solidarity with sexual abuse victims throughout the game. The famous arch over Wembley stadium was lit in teal for fifteen minutes before the match and the players also stood together before kick-off to display a banner with the slogan ‘Protect the Players’.

Sold out within 24 hours of tickets going on sale in August, the match had become the fastest-selling women’s match of all time. The official attendance of 76,893 fell short of a new world record for a women’s international friendly set when 77,698 watched England played Germany at Wembley in 2019. It was nevertheless the eighth largest crowd ever to witness a women’s match. It is also the fourth largest in history to watch the United States, behind the 90,189 who watched the 1999 Women’s Word Cup final at the Pasadena Rose Bowl, the 80,203 who saw the 2012 Olympic Final at Wembley and the 78,972 who saw the opening match of the 1999 World Cup at Giants Stadium.

Both sides were deprived of their first-choice strikers with Alessia Russo and Alex Morgan pulling out the game due to injuries. England coach Sarina Wiegman deployed winger Lauren Hemp up front which allowed her to draft in Chloe Kelly, the scorer of the winning goal in the UEFA Women’s Euro Final, in a fluid front three formation. In Morgan’s absence, the United States gave a first start to Ballon D’Or nominee Trinity Rodman.

It was Hemp who gave England an early lead slotting in from close range, before Sophia Smith equalized in the 28th minute after Georgia Stanway was caught in possession. Stanway made amends for her mistake by converting a penalty to restore the Lionesses lead five minutes later. The use of Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) twice came to the home side’s rescue, ruling out a second equalizing goal scored by Rodman on a fractional offside call and then correctly over-ruling a penalty incorrectly awarded by the referee for hand-ball against Hemp.

The victory was only the fifth for England over the United States in nineteen attempts. It was also the first for Sarina Wiegman over the United States in four attempts having lost the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup final to the defending world champions, losing a friendly in 2020 and then also being eliminated by the United States on penalties in the quarter-finals of the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Football Tournament while in charge of the Netherlands.

The win maintained the Lionesses’ unbeaten sequence under Wiegman. In 23 matches since she took the job in September 2021, she was won 21 and drawn two, scoring an improbable 118 goals and conceding just five. For her opposite number, Vlatko Andonovski, it was a first defeat for the United States in 22 matches since going out of the Tokyo Olympics at the semi-final stage to Canada. Going into the FIFA Women’s World Cup next summer, the victory is a significant statement for England as they bid to add a first world championship to their European title.

Speaking after the game Hemp said “I thought we did really well, especially in the first half, I thought we created a lot of chances. Out of possession we were fantastic as well, on the press. I think we all put in a shift today and it’s was a great result obviously. There’s a lot of preparation now for the World Cup. It’s important that we stay grounded and focus on the task in hand.”

Even in defeat, Andonovksi praised his players at the end of a tumultuous week off the field. “Obviously it was an extremely difficult week for everybody. I’m proud of the players to even be on the field. It wasn’t easy. I applaud their fearless mentality. Once again they showed that nothing can stop them playing the game that they love. It was a very special moment when the players got together and had the banner in front of them. It gave me goosebumps. We have to stop sexual violence. The players did a wonderful job of using this game as a platform to fight against it.”