LONDON (Reuters) – England manager Sarina Wiegman and U.S. boss Emma Hayes might be friends, but any congeniality between the two will be set aside, said Wiegman, when the world’s top two women’s soccer nations clash in a friendly at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Second-ranked England are using the match against the top-ranked Americans as part of their preparations for next summer’s European Championship where they will defend their Euro 2022 title, while the game marks Hayes’ first in England since she left Chelsea at the end of last season for the U.S. job.
“You really want to beat your friends even more than if it’s not your friend,” Wiegman said.
“It’s really exciting, of course, we play at Wembley, there are going to be like 85,000 people,” she added. “The U.S. won the Olympics, (they are) number one of the world, Emma Hayes there, where we used to collaborate and now we’re opponents, whilst still in the football world we’re actually one family, but we’re absolutely competing tomorrow, so I’m just really looking forward to that.”
Wiegman’s team have not been at their best recently, losing 4-3 to Germany late last month at Wembley in a horrible defensive performance, before edging South Africa 2-1 four nights later.
The Americans, on the other hand, are on a nine-game winning streak and are unbeaten in their last 18.
“We’re really excited to play the U.S.,” said England defender Lucy Bronze. “As long as I’ve been an England player, it’s been one of the most exciting games to play in. We always play them in big occasions.
“There seems to be a rivalry that’s blossomed out of nowhere over the past kind of decade. And we know, no matter what players show up, what players are on the pitch, who the manager is even, it’s such a competitive, high level game.”
Bronze said the U.S. are an ideal opponent at this point in their run-up to Euro 2025 in Switzerland.
“It’s a good level because of the fact that the U.S. have just won the Olympic gold medal,” said the 33-year-old Chelsea defender.
“It takes a lot to win a tournament. Obviously, we know that to win the Olympics, you have to be intense, you have to be ruthless, you have to have the crazy mentality. I think that sums up the USA perfectly.
“So if we can go toe to toe with a team like that, see the mentality that it takes, learn from any mistakes that we make in the game, push ourselves and yeah, show what we can do against a top team like that, it’s going to put us in very good stead for the next kind of six to eight months, however long the Euros is away.”
Hayes, who grew up in Camden less than 10 miles from Wembley, is likely to get a warm reception in her first match in her home country since taking over the U.S. team. She coached them to Olympic gold and then won the Ballon d’Or as the 2024 Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing in Manchester, England; Editing by Toby Davis)
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