In Focus: Five key talking points from England 2-1 USA

The first-half was a fantastic spectacle — Lauren Hemp opened the scoring but only 18 minutes later Sophia Smith equalised.

However, in another turn of events, England were awarded a VAR penalty which Georgia Stanway converted.

Sarina Wiegman’s side had to dig deep and concede some possession in the second-half but they did enough to secure a statement win against an excellent side.

We take a look at five key talking points from England’s victory over the USA.

After the incredible Euro 2022 win in the summer, England’s eyes are now peeled to the World Cup in 2023 to see if they can go one step further.

USA are the holders of the competition and are the likely favourites going in, so the game tonight was a great showcase for how England can compete against the best.

Wiegman’s side did just that — beating the USA is a great message that they can win the World Cup for the first time.

Despite the game only being a friendly, the match was played at a tempo that could’ve been mistaken for a final.

The European Champions and the World Champions matched up to create an extremely open game, especially in the first-half.

The USA were getting some joy down both wings and they were quick in transition, playing straight over the top of England’s midfield.

However, England had their moments and went in ahead — Hemp was very fluid as a number nine, Lucy Bronze was finding a lot of space on the right and Chloe Kelly was using her speed well on the left.

Hemp is not a natural striker by trade, often playing on the left-hand side for Manchester City, but her movement for the first goal was fantastic.

She darted into the box, pounced on Alana Cook’s loose touch, and finished well to put England into the lead early.

Wiegman has no shortage of strikers at her disposable but having this option is certainly a useful dynamic.

The game was dominated by VAR, with three big decisions leaning towards England.

Firstly, the referee went over to the monitor to have a look at a very high boot from Hailie Mace on Bronze.

It was awarded as a penalty and Stanway tucked it away.

The second decision ruled out a USA goal that would’ve made it 2-2; the ball came into Megan Rapinoe who played a tidy flick to Trinity Rodman and she fired home well.

However, Smith was deemed offside in the build-up to that goal and it was the finest of margins.

Later on in the game, VAR became involved again as the referee thought she saw a handball in the box and awarded the USA a penalty but it came off Hemp’s backside instead, so that penalty was wiped away.

In the second-half, England had to show a slightly different side to their game.

The match was less open as USA held the ball well and created some chances, mainly through the lively Smith.

England had to accept the lack of territory but dug deep and defended well — something they had to do during their Euro 2022 campaign a few times.

It is a fantastic trait to have and to keep out a team as talented as the USA only bodes well for England going forward.