The United States duked out a rather tepid 0-0 game against England at Wembley in front of 78,346 fans. The U.S. women’s national team looked like a team of players mostly out of season and preparing to hunker down for some time off. There were flashes of excitement; after all, this is a roster minus quite a few usual starters, and it’s always nice to see a first cap, as Ally Sentnor earned hers on Saturday.
There was also no denying the atmosphere.
The sight of Geri Horner — “Ginger Spice” — in the Wembley VIP box and Michele Kang on punditry duty was evidence of the irresistible intrigue surrounding this fixture. But it was 10 minutes before kick-off, as the Wembley Stadium announcer promised “something never been seen”, that the USA’s arrival in England felt fiercest. Lights dimmed and a technicolor EDM-concert-meets-Super-Bowl-Sunday strobe light and fireworks show followed, culminating in plumes of red smoke for the players to walk out under.
It was pre-match pageantry appropriate for the billing, though the first-half display made hard work for the crowd. Optimistic chants of ‘USA! USA!’ were met duly by English boos, as was the arrival of midfielder Korbin Albert in the 72nd minute. A better second-half performance from both sides inspired a more…
