Georgia Stanway penalty gives England victory over world champions USA

On a night dominated by a moving show of unity, the Lionesses edged the USA winning a thrillingly open battle between the European champions and world champions 2-1 to main Sarina Wiegman’s unbeaten run as England manager.

England’s win over the World Cup holders was their first since an 89th-minute goal from Ellen White gave them victory in the 2017 SheBelieves Cup, and it was only their third ever win against the Americans in 19 games.The gap though is closer than ever, with the Football Association investing heavily from top to bottom in a bid to bridge it.

This fixture always matters, but it was dripping with extra poignancy. To mark the 50th anniversary of the first official England women’s match on 18 November, 12 members of the original 1972 squad would take to the field clutching the long overdue caps they had been presented with ahead of the match. While close to 150 former and current players were presented to the crowd at half-time.

The game has come a long way. But the celebrations of just how far women’s football has come, with this fixture the fastest-selling England game – men’s or women’s – at the new Wembley were tempered by moving acknowledgements of just how far there is to go, even in one of the most advanced women’s footballing nations.

The Sally Yates report which found emotional and sexual abuses to be “systemic” within women’s domestic football in the US was published on Monday. In solidarity during a traumatic week for the US women’s national team, all players took to the field wearing teal armbands, the Wembley arch was lit in the colour that represents the campaign against sexual violence, and players stood united behind a “protect the players” banner before kick-off.

There had been questions