Christen Press banger leads the way in the United States in a 2-0 victory over England

Starting XI: Alyssa Naeher, Becky Sauerbrunn, Abby Dahlkemper, Kelley OHara, Crystal dunn, Julie Ertz, Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle, Carli Lloyd, Tobin Heath, Christen Press

The problems you might have noticed watching the USWNT at the start of Olympic qualifying persisted when they started SheBelieves tonight in Orlando. It’s a team whose players are clearly not in season, and it showed in the first half against England. No one looked particularly keen, except maybe Alyssa Naeher, Rose Lavelle and Julie Ertz. Everyone has had their mistakes, like Crystal Dunn letting a player slip behind her, or Tobin Heath taking too many dribbles, or Carli Lloyd not finishing a few chances on a dish.

Of course, the United States played in their relentless high pressure style, and although England tried early to really pound Kelley OHara, they were ultimately pushed further and further, starting the ball more deeply. Around 35, England left a lot of room in the United States for eating, allowing them to push up to the midfield before applying pressure. They did not seem very confident to meet the challenges of the American midfielder, but they also did not seem as hesitant. And they certainly had several good chances on set kicks and open play, as in the 26 when a corner was carefully knocked over just over Carli Lloyd and Alyssa Naeher had to hit the ball twice when 39; it fell.

Carly Telford, his Naehers counterpart, also had a good first half, pocketing Lindsey Horan in 23 on what should have been a very likely chance at goal. Lloyd had several looks at the goal, including a main chance for a beauty served to her by Lavelle in 28, then another crisp Heath ball in 31 which Lloyd looked slightly unprepared for. only once.

The half ended at 0-0 and no clear sense of who would be the first to open the scoring, although the United States had more momentum.

The second half opened at a slower pace, with England trying to do the patient thing and intelligently seek an opening. Nikita Parris almost took over Crystal Dunn in the 52s, giving him the slip in the space between the defenders, but Becky Sauerbrunn was there. Parris was a real problem for the United States in the first 10 minutes of halftime, but the momentum suddenly broke in 53 as Christen Press wrapped a nice ball in the side of the goal well outside the 18.

Carli Lloyd quickly followed this up with a definitive rebuke from his performance in the first half.

The first American submarine was in 62 as Christen Press left the field for Megan Rapinoe. Pre-match comments indicated that Rapinoe was still not in great shape, and she definitely looked like her legs were not under her while on the pitch. Shes lost a step to get to the ball and had the same problem as the rest of the team in anticipating the game for the open player, which led to missed opportunities in front of goal.

Two other submarines came in the 1970s as Lynn Williams and Sam Mewis came for Heath and Lavelle, respectively. It was a frustrating game for Heath, not the least of which was due to getting his hair pulled (!) By Georgia Stanway just before the press goal. Lavelle had a better night, watching his own usual coolness on the ball, with a delicious defensive tackle to start in 63 to help OHara.

Lloyd continued to look better during this half, owning much of the space in the arc above the surface of 18 yards. She and Rapinoe actually looked like they had a good connection, but they were only half a step away from some of their tight passes.

The last submarine was in 89 while Lloyd was leaving Jess McDonald. As for wanting to pressure England and preserve a shutout, McDonald's is a submarine that you may want to bring a little earlier, perhaps even instead of Rapinoe, allowing it to rest longer. But so to speak, the United States has always dominated roughly the second half, and England only scoring two goals down is as much a function of the fact that the United States is still at lower speed than from any attempt at English defense.

Next step: USA vs Spain, which could be an even more entertaining game, if Spains' previous performance against Japan is an indication. This game will begin at 5 p.m. ET on March 8 on ESPN and TUDN.