Emma Hayes, the United States women's head coach, confessed to battling with her emotions during 'God Save The King' before her team's stalemate with England at Wembley. This friendly match saw London-born Hayes, a former Chelsea manager, pitted against England's Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman, two of the leading figures in the women's game, draw more attention pre-match than the on-pitch talent, despite featuring a rare clash between the world's top two sides.
Although back on home turf and happy, Hayes reckoned the US missed that decisive "killer piece" as they looked more likely to break the deadlock.
Reflecting on the emotions stirred by the anthem, Hayes divulged: "I was definitely mouthing (it), and Naomi (Girma) and Lynn (Williams) could see that I was struggling with where to be and all that.
"I got to the end of the anthems and I thought, ‘that’s so ridiculous. I’m proud to be English and I’m proud of our national anthem, and I’m also really proud to coach America’.
"Two things are possible all at once. I don’t want to fuel a nationalist debate around it. The realities are both countries are really dear to me for lots of reasons, and I’m really proud to represent both of them."
England's Lionesses may not have struck at goal during the first half, but their performance intensified post-break.
Following a game where US captain Lindsey Horan's goal was disallowed and a penalty for Chelsea was overturned after VAR review, Hayes said: "I’ve been privileged to coach a lot of top-level games, including here, so there’s a familiarity to being here for me.
"It’s not new to me, and because of that there was a whole sense of I’m coming back to a place I know. I have a really healthy perspective, and I want to have a really healthy perspective on my profession.
"I give everything I possibly can for a team that I really, really enjoy coaching, and I thrive, not just under pressure, but I like these opportunities, I like being in these situations. They bring out the best in me.
"You’ve got two top teams now, Sarina is an amazing coach, I thought it was a good tactical match-up, and I just enjoy coaching a high-level football match, to be honest with you. I don’t think too much about it."
Despite missing her star 'Triple Espresso' forward line Rodman, Swanson, and Smith due to injuries, Hayes shared a pre-match moment with Wiegman, highlighting her return to a familiar scene filled with leadership.
Despite missing key strikers like Lauren Hemp, Lauren James, and Ella Toone through injury, England's performance in the friendly was robust, battling to a stalemate that some critics argued the team seemed too comfortable with. However, Wiegman dismissed any notion of complacency.
"I think we were really defending as a team, very strong. We got momentum in the second half, we did better, and of course both teams went for the win," she said.
"So many things happened in this game, also in front of the goal, so I don’t think it was boring.
"We wanted to go for the win, but it was such a high-intensity game, you have to deal with a very good opponent, so you can’t just say, ‘Now we’re going to go and score that goal’.
"We tried, of course, to do that. We didn’t slow down to keep it 0-0. I think that was just how the game went."