USA Women vs England Women; SheBelieves Cup
USA Women vs England Women. SheBelieves Cup.
Orlando City Stadium.
USA Women 2
England Women 0
USA Women vs England Women: Lionesses begin SheBelieves Cup defence
Follow USA Women vs England Women on Sky Sports' digital platforms from 11pm on Thursday; Kick-off 12am
Thursday 5 March 2020 23:07, UK
England Women begin their SheBelieves Cup defence on Thursday when they take on USA Women in Orlando.
Phil Neville's side won the annual competition in 2019, winning two and drawing one of their games to lift their first SheBelieves trophy.
- SheBelieves Cup: What, when, who?
- Lucy Bronze out of SheBelieves Cup title defence
- Grace Fisk receives first England call-up, Beth Mead out
They begin the 2020 tournament against their old foes, the USA, but with a few changes since they last met in July, so who will come out on top this time around?
The fixture history
The USA have dominated the recent meetings between the two sides. Since the inaugural SheBelieves Cup in 2016, they have won three of the five meetings, with England winning another and one draw, which came at the 2017 and 2019 SheBelieves competitions respectively.
Their biggest meeting came nine months ago in the Women's World Cup semi-finals. Ellen White cancelled out Christen Press' early goal, before Alex Morgan ultimately won the game for the USA in the 31st minute.
In a dramatic second half, England had an Ellen White equaliser ruled out for offside and a Steph Houghton penalty saved before Millie Bright was sent off for a second booking.
Now, the two will meet again on Thursday as the 2020 ShBelieves tournament gets underway in Orlando. Kick-off at 12am on Friday in the UK and you can follow the game across Sky Sports' digital platform.
Team news
One notable absentee for the USA will be Alex Morgan, who is pregnant with her first child. However, the likes of Tobin Heath, Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd have been included.
Mallory Pugh and Tierna Davidson return to the squad after missing out on the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying team. From their World Cup-winning squad, Casey Short, Andi Sullivan and Lynn Williams have been added.
Phil Neville named a young England side, but will be without influential players Beth Mead and Lucy Bronze. Both are carrying injuries and will play no part in this year's SheBelieves Cup.
Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo came into the squad for the pair, while Grace Fisk has received her first senior call-up. However, goalkeeper Mary Earps and striker Jodie Taylor have not been included.
Who is Vlatko Andonovski?
Long-time USA coach Jill Ellis officially stepped down in October and was replaced by Vlatko Andonovski. Starting his career in his home country of North Macedonia, he spent six years playing indoor soccer in the USA before moving into coaching. He has managed at the Kansas City Comets, FC Kansas City and Reign FC before being appointed as USA manager.
The USA have been in formidable form since his arrival too. They have played and won all seven games, scoring 34 goals and conceding just two - both in a friendly against Sweden. Five of these games have come in the CONCACAF Women's Olympic qualifying campaign where the USA have not conceded against any side.
Neville: This is winning football
Phil Neville's SheBelieves Cup target is for his England squad to retain their title - ahead of player development.
"You can't win anything with kids, can you? It's a proven fact," he told Sky Sports News. "We've got a young team but a team that now needs to come together and start creating their own stories and their own avenues for success.
"But I remember breaking into the United team alongside a lot of other young players, like the young players we've got here now, and never once were people talking about us developing and giving us time - we had to win.
"That's what I've said to the players - there is a group of senior players here who have boarded this plane because they want to win the SheBelieves Trophy like they experienced last year, and so have I.
"This is not development football, this is winning football, this is senior football. Young people bring a fearlessness to the group and an energy that the senior players have embraced. They want to make an impact and the exciting thing for me will be taking the shackles off them and letting them play."
The players to watch
Who will everyone be talking about in this fixture? We take a look a two of the contenders...
Rose Lavelle - USA
Rose Lavelle was one of the standout stars for the USA in France, although she was arguably overshadowed by the likes of Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, who is currently pregnant with her first child.
This could give Lavelle the perfect platform to assert herself as a key player for the world champions. She dazzled with her fancy footwork at the World Cup and scored a sensational goal in the final. She was awarded the Bronze Ball behind team-mate Rapinoe and England's Lucy Bronze and was also named as one of 10 'Players Who Dared to Shine' by a FIFA Technical Study Group.
The 24-year-old, who plays her club football for Washington Spirit, already has World Cup and CONCACAF Women's Championship victories under her belt. Will she be adding the SheBelieves Cup this month?
Beth England - England
One of the most talented strikers in the Women's Super League, Beth England was surprisingly omitted from England's World Cup squad last summer. After a year on loan at Liverpool in the 2017/18 season, England returned to Chelsea with a new determination and finished the 2018/19 campaign as the WSL's third-highest scorer with 12 goals, only beaten by Nikita Parris (19) and Vivianne Miedema (22).
This season, England is level with Miedema in the WSL scoring stakes - both scoring 14 times - but has finally settled into her role as Chelsea's main striker. Her form has also seen a quick accumulation of five England caps and two goals in friendlies against Brazil and the Czech Republic.
The SheBelieves Cup will represent her biggest test in an England shirt, with manager Neville saying: "She was really unlucky before the World Cup and I said to her when we brought her into the squad that she would be getting opportunities after Christmas.
"She's playing in a team full of confidence and every time I see her play, she's added a little bit to the game. Without doubt she, along with Ellen White, are the best two centre-forwards in England on form and she deserves her place in the squad."
