One of Sarina Wiegman’s watchwords is “connections.”

The England coach is always on the lookout for players who can build stronger connections on the pitch, improving the flexibility of her team. Another word that came up during this international break is the opportunity to “experiment”, after all these are friendly matches.

Against the USA, Wiegman chose to position Jessica Naz on the right wing and Beth Mead much further back on the opposite wing. Jess Park at number 10 also had to cover space on the left, with Alessia Russo as a striker.

It was an unprecedented starting combination.

But this wasn’t just friendly. Against the USA, in front of 78,346 fans, England could not afford to score four goals, as in the previous game against Germany at Wembley Stadium. They had to strengthen their porous defense, which they managed to do by conceding a goal. But England’s attack lacked fluidity, aggression and bite.

The hosts recorded the lowest expected goals ratio (0.07) – a measure of the quality of chances created – and the fewest number of shots (four) in Wiegman’s entire three-year spell as England coach, by some margin. Their second lowest xG record is 0.36 and comes from the game against Spain in the Arnold Clark Cup in February 2022.

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England didn’t create much chance and the fans had little to celebrate. Russo, the obvious choice as the absolute number 9, was isolated at the front. The Arsenal striker did her best with her serve but it failed when pivot Keira Walsh was taken out of play.

Russo put on a typical Russo performance, working hard for her team. She was trusted to hold the ball against an aggressive American defense, particularly center back Naomi Girma, who said afterward that she was “just trying to keep Russo with her back to the goal and force her to go backwards.”

Girma arrives with the ball after a fight with Russo (Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

Without Lauren Hemp and Lauren James missing through injury, England’s attack was not unpredictable.

The intriguing aspect was that Wiegman Naz started ahead of Chelsea’s Aggie Beever-Jones or Manchester City’s Chloe Kelly. Naz said after the game she was “even shocked to be in the squad” and described playing at Wembley as a “surreal” feeling. Wiegman did, however, use Naz in all three of England’s friendly matches in November: she was a substitute against Germany and started against South Africa. Wiegman’s logic is to use Naz’s pace to get into the spaces behind the defense.

The 24-year-old had to adjust her position depending on how the USA developed from behind. When in possession she pushed forward to pass to Russo, but when out of possession she was instructed to drop and go down the right wing. Naz said she had Lucy Bronze in her ear like a “little microphone” telling her where to go, while she also spoke to Russo about each other’s positions at the posts and in the penalty area when crosses were made.

It takes time to process new information in a new role and that became clear as England’s attack got going.

“At first I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a lot!'” Naz said. “But Sarina just said: ‘Play your game, the threats at the back are what you bring. We would like to inspire you for this. Just keep going up.

However, none of the wingers, neither Mead nor Naz, offered attacks at the back. Although Wiegman praised Naz for her efforts to understand the game plan and her rapid development, she rarely troubled the US backline and had to put more pressure on them.

Naz struggled to get behind US defenses (MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Mead was also positioned in a deeper role on their weaker left side, and Park and Georgia Stanway struggled to make an impact. The USA fended off four blocked balls, won duels and aerial duels and reduced England to just one shot on goal and 14 touches of the ball in the opponent’s penalty area. The USA had 40 touches of the ball in the English penalty area but were unable to force a breakthrough.

It’s refreshing to see offering opportunities to new players. But does Wiegman see Naz playing for England at Euro 2025? If the manager had put Kelly, who fell out of favor at City, in the starting XI, would she have been criticized for returning to her (winning) Euro 2022 team?

It was interesting to see that when Wiegman turned to the bench in the 75th minute, she relied on experienced internationals Kelly and Fran Kirby rather than experimenting further. The return of Hemp and James will bolster England’s attacking talent but raises questions about squad strength in those areas.

“Everyone is doing their best to make those connections and bring their own qualities to the game and try to find out what England are like,” defender Jess Carter said after the game.

Between experimentation and building connections, England finds itself in a liminal space where clarity is required.

(Top photo: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)