It was nearly time for the panic button. Maybe not to press it, but to look at it – to acknowledge that it’s within reach. A listless, shorthanded US women’s national team were struggling against Spain, down 2-0, and facing the ignominy of two straight decisive losses at home after Saturday’s 3-0 drubbing in Washington DC.
Then two players who had just returned to the team after long absences turned the tide. Ashley Sanchez and Mallory Swanson, after international scoring droughts of 1,648 days and 801 days, respectively, each scored in the second half to earn a 2-2 draw with the defending World Cup winners.
The result may have avoided the worst-case scenario, but the way it unfolded will give US fans pause. Just 255 days from the 2027 World Cup, the results raise fresh questions ahead of the side’s return to World Cup qualification in late November. But of course, there are caveats. Both teams were missing key players, with the World Cup still 10 months away there’s plenty of time to course-correct.
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Rather, the matches served as a helpful reminder to what many – including USWNT head coach Emma Hayes – already knew ahead of them: Spain, the top-ranked team in the world, are the first team in decades that can legitimately outclass the US women, who have long been the international standard bearers for the sport.
Hayes made four changes from the starting lineup she rolled out against Spain on Saturday, handing Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce the start in goal, tapping Ashley Sanchez and Claire Hutton in midfield and attempting to shore up her backline with Angel City fullback Gisele Thompson.
The US fared better in the game’s opening 10 minutes than they did for much of Saturday’s decisive loss, but were once again nearly undone by an early defensive lapse around the 15 minute mark. Spain attacker Clara Pinedo easily split US defenders Emily Fox and Kennedy Wesley with a perfectly timed run, and her driven, close-range effort from the far side of the box challenged Tullis-Joyce but did not find the back of the net.
Spain’s pair of goals came 15 minutes later, on opposite sides of the half hour mark. The first came courtesy of two-time Ballon D’Or winner Alexia Putellas, who made easy work of a close-range tap-in at the near post. The ball arrived at her feet after a lovely, patient nine-pass sequence by the Spaniards; Barcelona midfielder Clara Serrajordi’s ensuing cross traversed the six-yard box, was deftly stepped over by Spanish midfielder Clara Pinedo and found Putellas alone to finish her 43rd international goal.
Six minutes later, the US handed Spain another. Under duress, Tullis-Joyce played a pass through her own central defenders and directly towards Putellas, who strode forward and threaded an angle ball through to OL Lyonnes midfielder Salma Paraluello, who smashed her effort off the underside of the crossbar and into goal, silencing the 18,648 in attendance in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Once again missing center back Naomi Girma and midfielder Sam Coffey, the US were exposed badly in central defense; Spain, despite missing two-time Ballon D’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí and a host of others, were rarely challenged – at least not until the games reached its closing stages, and introductions from the bench turned the tide.
The US finally found the back of the net at the 50th minute on the counterattack. Midfielder Lindsey Heaps collected the ball in the US box and played it upfield to Portland Thorns forward Sofia Wilson, who did well to fight off a defender and sprint upfield, eventually playing across to Sanchez, who rounded her defender and struck an inch-perfect finish past Spain keeper Misa Rodríguez and into the far-side netting. On an otherwise forgettable night, Sanchez was consistently in dangerous spots for the US.
The US finally managed to seize a bit of control in the dying moments of the match, after both teams made wholesale changes, with the US equalizer once again coming on the counterattack. US debutant Kate Del Fava did well to gain possession in her own half and found Kansas City Current forward Michelle Cooper with a 40-yard, lofted ball. Cooper ran into its path, found Chicago Stars forward Mal Swanson with a cross and Swanson did well to finish from the top of the area. Improbably, US midfielder Lily Yohannes very nearly won the game for the US in the final minute of stoppage time, with her effort parried just wide by Rodríguez.
The USWNT have faced a host of elite opponents this year and experienced varying results against top-10 competition like Japan, Brazil and Canada, yet they continue to struggle against Spain, winless against La Roja six years. In the interim, Spain have emerged as a dominant force, sharing the same possession-based, positional-play style the Spanish men have employed for decades. Spanish clubs have been rapidly professionalized over the last decade and those same clubs have pumped millions into youth development, populating the Spanish women with a steady stream of young prospects.
The US women will look ahead now to a match against a much lesser opponent, albeit one with much higher stakes: they’ll meet El Salvador in the quarter-finals of the Concacaf W Championship with direct qualification to the 2027 World Cup at stake on 27 November in Mansfield, Texas.