A crowd of 18,000 chants in unison to the beat of the fan section drums. It’s the 86th minute of the match, and the U.S. Women’s National Team is down 2-1 to reigning World Cup Champions, Spain. The beat continues. The left outside back, Jordan Bugg, plays a long ball over the top of the retreating Spanish defense to forward Michelle Cooper. Cheering gets louder, the sound echoing off the walls of Subaru Park in Chester, PA. Cooper, with her back to the goal, turns her defender and lays a ball back to the top of the box to Mallory Swanson, who is trailing the play unmarked. The crowd takes a collective breath in as Swanson touches the ball up into the air and erupts when she hammers it home into the bottom left corner of the goal. The U.S. and Spain tied 2-2.
The United States Women’s National Team played their second game in their two-game series against Spain on Oct. 13. After a 2-0 loss in Washington, D.C. just three days prior on Oct. 10, the USWNT was looking for a stronger result against the world No. 1 ahead of the Brazil 2027 Women’s World Cup.
Spain unequivocally dominated the first half of the game in possession and attacking chances, going up by one in the 27th minute and scoring for a second time just five minutes later in the 32nd minute. Spain’s poise whilst playing in tight spaces drew the U.S. defense in, making the game feel crowded. But Spain’s goals came from capitalizing on those tight spaces, drawing U.S. defenders close and playing short passes around them, before sending the ball out of pressure quickly to create attacking chances while the U.S. was still chasing.
In the 27th minute, the American defense failed to mark #11 Alexia Putellas, who came off of a goal in the first match, on a cross, resulting in the first goal for Spain that was tapped in on the back post. The second goal from Spain came from an early ball in behind that was cleared right down the middle of the field by the U.S. keeper, #24 Phallon Tullis-Joyce, to an awaiting Spanish midfielder. Spain quickly found #7 Salma Paralluelo for a beautiful right-footed strike at the top of the box that found the back of the net in the 32nd minute.
Motivated by their less-than-desirable performance in the first half, the U.S. came out of the halftime break with some fire. Winger Ashley Sanchez notched her first international goal since 2022 in the 49th minute, a low side-netting shot that slipped past the Spanish keeper from a tough angle. However, attacking opportunities following Sanchez’s goal were weak, with players not following through on chances. The energy of the U.S. team felt muted, and the hunger to win was not present. It wasn’t until Mallory Swanson, who came off the bench in the 60th minute, netted the equalizer that put the U.S. back into contention for a win.
Nevertheless, despite some late second-half attacking opportunities after Swanson’s goal, the No. 2 team couldn’t pull off a convincing world-champion performance against Spain. Perhaps this is due to the chemistry of a relatively new roster for the U.S. compared to a seasoned Spanish lineup. Although some of the biggest names in U.S. women’s soccer — Sophia Wilson, Mallory Swanson, and Lindsay Heaps, to name just a few — were on the U.S. lineup, their two friendly games versus Spain were their first after a four-month break in play. At the end of the day, the U.S. struggled against a more organized Spanish team. While they scraped back two goals, the USWNT’s lapses in focus from the midfield allowed Spain to attack with clinical efficiency.
The two-series performance left fans wondering just what kind of team the USWNT will be leading up to the Summer 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil in just over eight months. As USWNT head coach Emma Hayes said in the lead-up to the game, the match was “essential” for preparing for the World Cup. But the US couldn’t have prepped with a better team. The US Women’s National Team’s performance indicated that there is still work to be done. After the match, Hayes noted that “[Spain] is the best team in the world … We’re still in progress. We’re deserving of being world champions. Our job is to hunt back.”
While Spain has already qualified for the 2027 World Cup, the USWNT still faces that hurdle. Their World Cup Qualifying journey will continue in their next match against El Salvador in the CONCACAF W Championship Quarterfinals on Nov. 27 (US Soccer, August 11, 2026).
