Wiegman vowed to experiment - did USA draw show 'evolution'?

England conceded five goals in their two matches played in October

England's goalless draw with the United States gave a glimpse of Sarina Wiegman's plans for Euro 2025 as they experimented and put in a strong defensive display.

Following disappointing performances against Germany and South Africa in October, former England midfielder Karen Carney said she was "praying for a bit of evolution" - and they got some.

Changes in formation, tweaks to positions and a return to their "World Cup vibes" helped England keep Olympic champions at bay.

While this was by no means a complete improvement, it showed England have progressed in the month since their 4-3 defeat by Germany at Wembley.

"We are learning things. This shows where we are at and we need to keep improving. It is November now," said Wiegman.

"This is good but we want to be better again. We have to be better again."

Familiar defence steps up

USA head coach Emma Hayes said they expected a "reaction" from England - and felt they faced one despite Wiegman's side only having one shot on target.

In a game of few clear-cut chances, it was the USA who looked more threatening, having a goal disallowed for offside in the first half and a penalty rightly overturned following a video assistant referee check in the second half.

But England's defence stepped up to the task and put aside recent criticism after looking shaky this year.

Goalkeeper Mary Earps, given the nod ahead of Hannah Hampton in what felt like a show of faith by Wiegman, put in a confident display and made numerous saves.

She helped form the defence in a 4-4-2 formation - something Wiegman used during England's run to the Women's World Cup final in 2023, but has largely moved away from this year.

"That structure felt a bit World Cup vibes. Some of us have played together for a really long time and we know each other really well," Earps told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Communication is really important. I felt like we were talking the whole game and finding solutions for problems. We kept them at bay.

"We don’t want celebrate a 0-0 draw but we'll take it and we're looking to be firing ahead of the Euros next summer."

Earps admitted it had been a "tough year" for the Lionesses and they are still "figuring out" how they want to play at Euro 2025 - but this was a step in the right direction, keeping out the USA, albeit in the absence of the visitors' usual front three.

'We've seen glimpses of positive signs'

Jess Park (left) and Jess Naz were both given an opportunity to shine at Wembley

Wiegman said in her programme notes she wanted to "experiment" - and changes were made.

Alex Greenwood and Jess Carter switched positions from centre-back to left-back and seemed to slot in seamlessly in a strong defence.

There was a defensive role given to Tottenham's Jess Naz, who linked up with Lucy Bronze on the right-hand side, while Jess Park was given the nod in midfield.

The change in formation to a 4-4-2 also seemed to add more solidity.

"If you look at the two games we played last month and now, we are trying to adapt, improve and try new things," said Wiegman.

"Against Germany, we were too open. While we tried these things we got information and I felt this [4-4-2] formation was the best against the USA."

Greenwood told BBC Radio 5 Live the adaptations worked well "in spells" but improvements can still be made.

"We have these games against the best opposition to work on those things. I think we've seen glimpses of really positive signs," said Greenwood.

"Playing against one of best teams in the world, I thought we defended really well. We can keep the ball better at times in transition - but that will come."

'We didn't slow down to keep 0-0'

While there were clear improvements in defence and a better structure out of possession, England's lack of attacking threat was evident.

The loss of injured trio Lauren Hemp, Ella Toone and Lauren James had an impact but the USA, without their star players, were still able to cause problems.

"We looked happy to not concede because of games previously and that's disappointing because there are some players we haven't really seen," former England striker Ian Wright told ITV.

"It felt to me like England were happy to take a 0-0. We struggle to have a properly complete performance."

But Wiegman was not concerned having clearly focused on their defensive structure and tweaks to the set-up.

"We want to go for a win. It was such a high-intense game and you need to deal with the opponent. You can’t go 'OK, now we are going to score a goal,'" said Wiegman.

"We tried of course to do that. In the second half, we got more momentum and got towards their goal a little more. In the first half we had less moments like that.

"But we didn’t slow down to keep 0-0 - that’s just how the game went."