England women held Olympic champions USA to a goalless draw in a friendly at Wembley on Saturday, ending the USWNT’s nine-game winning streak in a battle between the world’s two best international teams.

The No. 1-ranked USA, unbeaten in 19 games, forced England goalkeeper Mary Earps into several big saves and then had a Lindsey Horan goal disallowed for offside early in the second half.

The American players celebrated briefly again minutes later when the referee pointed to the penalty spot and thought England defender Alex Greenwood had taken the ball. The decision was overturned following a VAR review.

“Very intense game. It’s at the highest level,” said England coach Sarina Wiegman. “We had some moments. As a team we defended really well and could have put them under pressure. We learned a lot from this game. Very intense game and I hope everyone who saw it enjoyed the team.”

Wiegman’s second-placed Englishman, who was using the game as part of his preparations for Euro 2025 where he will be the defending champion, came into play and Beth Mead fired a late shot just wide of the post, taking advantage of one of her best chances.

“It was tough, as you would expect against the Olympic champion,” Earps told ITV. “We were hard to beat and determined and stuck together as a group. There are things we can build on, but I think we will accept a 0-0 draw.”

Earps started in goal on Saturday ahead of Hannah Hampton.

Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images

---

“We know how good (Earps) is,” Wiegman said. “The competition with her and Hannah is very good and she showed herself today.”

The game in front of 78,346 fans at Wembley Stadium – a record crowd for a women’s international friendly – was Emma Hayes’ first game back in her home country since leaving Chelsea in May after 12 years to coach the US team.

Key players were missing on both sides. The USWNT’s failures were most obvious on the front line, where Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson – nicknamed “Triple Espresso” – were all injured.

Lauren Hemp, Lauren James, Ella Toone and Maya Le Tissier were missing from England.

England keeping a clean sheet, albeit against a weakened American team, was a major boost considering they have been far from their best of late, losing 3-3 in a terrible defensive performance at Wembley late last month. 4 lost to Germany before beating South Africa 2-1 four nights later.

“Listen, when you have to play against England, especially after the defeat against Germany, we knew there would be a reaction to that performance,” Hayes said. “But we kept the audience calm. I thought we controlled the game. I feel like I have the chance to see so many younger, less experienced players, so I had the chance to see them in the spotlight and under pressure.”

“I’m super proud of the way we prevailed against them. It was just the last part of the pitch and if you lose the quality we have by not having the ‘triple espresso’ here, the players who start or end the game will become.” “The game has to learn , choosing the right moments and implementing them with a quality that I was simply missing. But in general I’m happy with the performance.”

The USA next travel to The Hague to play the Netherlands on Tuesday, while England face Euro 2025 hosts Switzerland in a friendly at Sheffield’s Bramall Lane on Tuesday.