USA vs. England Women's Soccer: Date, Time, Live Stream, 2015 Friendly Preview
The United States women's national team suffered a disappointing 2-0 loss to France during their 2015 opener, but things aren't about to get any easier when Jillian Ellis' team head to Milton Keynes to face England.
Mark Sampson's side have proved difficult to beat in recent times. Despite comfortably losing 3-0 to world No. 1 side Germany in November, England have won all 10 of their recent 2015 World Cup qualifiers, scoring 52 and conceding just one.
Granted, many of these matches came against lower-ranked teams, but last year's 4-0 home win over Sweden—rated fifth in the world, per FIFA—indicates the USWNT have a difficult task ahead.
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Here's the vital details for the upcoming clash, followed by a closer inspection of both side's chances:
Date: Friday, Feb. 13
Time: 3 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. GMT
Live Stream: Fox Sports GO
TV Info: Fox Sports 1
Excellent Opportunity for the USWNT to Bounce Back
Ellis' team head to Stadium knowing they can expect yet another thorough examination. Even so, the team will be desperate to take some positives out of the defeat to France.
There certainly wasn't a lack of chances created in Lorient. The artificial turf zipped well for Alex Morgan, who continues to lead the front line with guile. She was unable to capitalise on a number of decent opportunities last time out, but continues to appear dangerous when lurking on the shoulder of the last defender.
Morgan is a wily goalscorer, someone who drives the team forward, but it would be helpful to see greater numbers supporting her play. Abby Wambach should have dented the scoreboard, but her failure from the penalty spot and missed chance late on summed up a toothless U.S. attack. Both players will be looking to quickly improve.
Ashlyn Harris will keep her place in goal during Hope Solo's absence. The 29-year-old made some top-quality saves against a French side who were largely limited to shooting from distance. Harris covers her goal well and possesses sharp reactions, but she'll be looking to her defenders for a little more cover.
The back line switched off when Eugenie Le Sommer crept in to give France the lead on Sunday. Le Sommer had time and space to direct her header beyond Harris, who was given no chance to stop the breakthrough. Jessica Houara's shot-turned-cross extended the lead in fortunate circumstances for the hosts, as highlighted below:
Even so, Ellis was provided with an excellent chance to mix things up against France. The coach spoke to the USWNT's official website about finding profitable combinations ahead of the World Cup:
"We’re in the process of trying to get answers and playing different players and we knew France would be a fantastic test for us. At this point, we’re in the process of evaluating and also building and that’s why we play strong teams, to test ourselves. I don’t think we had great possession, we turned the ball over a lot, but still we had some quality chances, as did France.
"
England flaunt some dangerous goalscorers who will likely be confident ahead of the side's first 2015 fixture. Eniola Aluko has netted 13 in 10 qualifiers, with Toni Duggan bagging 10 and Karen Carney scoring seven, recorded by UEFA.com.
These are the types of numbers that will force any side to rethink their game plan, and a majorly positive showing for England after record scorer Kelly Smith announced her international retirement, per The FA.
The USWNT will need to stop Sampson's side getting hold of possession and moving forward as a group. It's unlikely the Milton Keynes atmosphere will be as intimidating as that seen in Lorient, but the English fans are likely to turn out in force to see their team try to return to winning ways.
A tight battle with few chances is likely to ensue with both teams looking to improve their defence, but the USWNT remains the stronger side.
Prediction: England 1-2 United States
