USWNT 2 - England 2
FT: Thank you for following along with me this afternoon. This is Felix Hernandez for VAVEL USA hoping you enjoyed the match. USWNT 2 - England 2. So long everybody!
USWNT 2 - England 2
FT: Lots of lessons need to be learned for the Americans. Many of the mistakes from the last match occurred again. USWNT need a win against Brazil and hope for a draw result in England vs. Japan to have a chance at the SheBelieves silverware.
USWNT 2 - England 2
Fulltime: With the result Japan is still atop the standings with 4 points with England. Japan has the tiebreaker due to goal differential. USWNT is third with 2 points followed by Brazil at 0 points.
USWNT 2 - England 2
90+5': Referee blows the final whistle of the match. Match ends in a 2-2 draw.
90+4': Rapinoe taking down in the box but no call. USWNT was pressing but could not find a way to put one in the back of the net.
90+3': USWNT and England going back and forth. Defenses holding strong.
USWNT 2 - England 2
90': Fourth official signals a minimum of four minutes of extra time.
89': England's first corner of the match. Cleared by the USWNT.
England Substitution
88': Taylor IN; Parris OUT.
USWNT Substitution
87': Lloyd IN; Dunn OUT.
81': Rapinoe sends Morgan behind Houghton. Morgan shot goes wide of the near post.
England Substitution
80': Stanway IN; White OUT.
77': Free kick USWNT near the corner flag. Ertz gets on the end of Rapinoe's kick at the near post but header goes wide.
72': Play delayed due to injury to England's Houghton. Walks off on her own. England playing with 10 at the moment.
England Substitution
71': Mead IN; Kirby OUT
USWNT 2 - England 2
66': GOOOOOOOOAAALLLL Heath USWNT! Ensuing corner pin balls in the six yard box. Heath finally pokes it home for the equalizer. USWNT starting picking up their play after the England goal.
66': England fail to clear. Ball finally goes out for a USWNT corner kick.
USWNT Substitution
64': Mewis IN; Lavelle OUT
61': White with another chance for England. USWNT backline breakdown. White's shot goes wide. Just missing the left post.
USWNT Substitution
61': Sauerbrunn IN; O'Hara OUT
USWNT Substitution
55': Press IN; Pugh OUT.
USWNT 1 - England 2
52': GOOOOOOAAAALLL England! Parris put England on top from a great pass from Kirby. Another breakdown from the USWNT backline.
51': Good movement by England but the play is called a back on an offside.
48': USWNT chance. Heath stays with the play at the end line. Crosses to Morgan who's shot goes high and wide.
USWNT 1 - England 1
46': Kickoff and the second half is underway. No substitutions.
Halftime: USWNT 1 - England 1
46': After 1 minute of extra time. Referee blows the whistle for Halftime.
44': USWNT chance. Dunn crosses to O'Hara at the back post. O'Hara tries to lay it Morgan in front but just out of Morgan's reach.
USWNT 1 - England 1
36': GOOOOOOAAALLLL England! Indirect free kick leads to a goal from Houghton. Curving ball around the wall to the far post, out of the reach of Franch.
34': Indirect free kick for England inside USWNT box due to illegal back pass. Dahlkemper to Franch.
USWNT 1 - England 0
33': GOOOOOOOOOAALLLL USWNT! Megan Rapinoe blasts a half volley past Bradsley! Poor clearance by England lands to the chest of Rapinoe.
29': Heath goes down in the box but referee holds her whistle. USWNT come back to create a chance for Morgan. Her tough angle shot is saved by Bradsley.
23': Play resumed as Walsh is back on the field.
21': Play delayed due to injury. England's Walsh is down due to injury.
20': USWNT holding possession trying to break through England's defense.
18: Free kick from Rapinoe goes into the box but USWNT is called for a foul. Free kick England.
15: England White with a hard foul on Ertz at midfield. Everyone is up and ok.
11: Lavelle is back on the field giving her injury a go. USWNT hold possession.
10': USWNT playing with 10 while Lavelle tries to work out her injury.
7': Play is delayed due to injury to Rose Lavelle. Looks to have jammed her right knee into the ground trying to save the ball from going out of bounce.
1': USWNT earn the first corner of the match and the first chance. Ball cleared off the line from England defender McManus. Rapinoe curled the ball in from the corner.
Kickoff: And we are underway for the second match of the 2019 SheBelieves Cup!
National Anthems are finish and are moments away from kickoff!
Squads are coming out for the National Anthems.
In the earlier match, Japan took down Brazil 3-1. Japan scored two late goals in a Brazil possession dominated match. As of now Japan it at the top of the group with four points. (1W-1D-0L)
USWNT roster stays the same with the exception of Franch who replaces Alyssa Naeher in goal. Naeher is out with a "minor shoulder" injury. This will be the first USWNT cap for Franch.
England Starting XI: Bardsley; Stokes, McManus, Houghton, Daly, Duggan, Walsh, Bronze, Parris, Kirby, White.
USWNT Starting XI: Franch; O'Hara, Dahlkemper, Davidson, Dunn, Ertz, Pugh, Lavelle, Heath, Morgan, Rapinoe.
Starting Lineups coming in shortly!
It's game day in Nashville!
Be sure to check back here as new information such as injuries and starting rosters become available. Then join me Saturday afternoon at 4:30pm EST for LIVE game updates.
Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee will host both matches on Saturday. First up is Brazil vs. Japan at 2PM EST. Then USWNT vs. England at 4:30PM EST on FOX.
The Lionesses will look to avenge their 1-0 loss from 2018 SheBelieves Cup. The lone goal in that matchup came off England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley own goal in the 58th minute.
England head coach Phil Neville expressed his approval of his defense to the media. “I enjoyed the test our defenders had.” He also expressed how VAR at the [Women’s] World Cup could help penalty decisions be better.
Injuries to regular starters, midfielder Lindsey Horan defender Becky Sauerbrunn, the Americans will have to improve in their defensive half. Center backs Tierna Davidson and Abby Dahlkemper will need to be better. Head coach Jill Ellis announced Sauerbrunn status for England is “To Be Determined” with a minor knee issue. It will be interesting to see if defensive minded midfielders Samantha Mewis or McCall Zerboni get to see the pitch after being left on the bench against Japan.
The match will be a major test for both going into the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. USWNT ranked #1 and England ranked #4 in the world, both will see where they measure up against a top class teams. This matchup may also be a preview to a knockout round match in the upcoming World Cup.
As a result, England Lionesses lead the tournament with three points (1W-0D-0L) and the USWNT are tied for second with one point (0W-1D-0L). Winner could have sole possession of first place depending on the Brazil vs. Japan result.
In the first match of the tournament, the England Lionesses would give up the first goal from a Brazilian penalty. Defender Lucy Bronze fouled Brazilian Marta inside the penalty area. England would score twice in the second half from forwards Ellen White and Beth Mead. White’s equalizer came in the 49th minute from fellow striker Fran Kirby. The goal was White’s fourth career SheBelieves Cup tally and now is the all-time leading goal scorer in tournament history. England’s go ahead goal came in the 75 minute from Mead’s powerful shot-cross from the right side that went over the goalkeeper's reach. England held on for a 2-1 victory.
USWNT took the lead twice but unable to hold off a young Japan squad. The Americans dominated the first half and got on the scoreboard in the 23rd minute. Tobin Heath drove her defender to the right endline and crossed to a waiting Megan Rapinoe to open the scoring. USWNT would take the 1-0 lead into halftime. Japan would take advantage of miscues by the American backline and scored the first equalizer in the 67th minute. Eight minutes later substitute Christen Press made an immediate impact assisting on Alex Morgan’s 99th career international goal giving the Americans their second lead. Again the USWNT were unable to hold the lead in the 91st minute due to more backline trouble and settled for a 2-2 draw.
The USWNT are coming off a tough 2-2 draw against Japan in their first match. The Americans will look to bounce back against an England squad that beat Brazil 2-1 in their first match. Saturday’s afternoon matchup will follow Brazil vs Japan and will take place in Nashville, Tennessee at Nissan Stadium.
Hello and welcome to VAVEL USA’s coverage of a 2019 SheBelieves Cup match between the United States Women’s National Team and England. My name is Felix Hernandez and I will be your host this afternoon. From now until kickoff on Saturday, March 2 at 4:30PM EST, I will be keeping you updated on news and notes. Be sure to come back at kickoff for LIVE updates.