The United States Women’s National Team took on Spain for a second chance against the World Cup champions after the 2-0 loss over the weekend. Coach Emma Hayes elected to make a few changes from the first game againt Spain over the weekend, with keeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce coming in at goal, Giselle Thompson slipping into the backline, Claire Hutton in midfield, and Ashley Sanchez on the attacking band.
The US started brightly, with Sophia Wilson putting a shot from distance that forced a decent save from the Spanish keeper. There was another chance with Rose Lavelle getting in behind, but it came to naught. Spain responded with their own shot from distance, which Tullis-Joyce easily handled.
From there, things began to tilt Spain’s way. First came a shot on target where Spain slipped an onside Clara Pineda through in behind the backline but Phallon Tullis-Joyce made herself big and blocked the shot.
Then Spain broke the deadlock. Spain’s Clara Serrajordi was played into space on the left hand side and she put in a pass to Pineda who was bursting in on goal. Pineda dummied it and let it roll to the backpost, where Alexia Putellas tapped it in.
The US tried to respond immediately, with Sanchez making a bursting run on the ball, through the box to the byline, but the angle was too tight and she couldn’t put her shot on frame. And just moments later, it was 2-0. Spain put in a hopefull ball over the top to try and get behind the US’s backline, which was easily cleaned up back to Tullis-Joyce. But the keeper lost her concentration on the pass and put it straight down the ball, directly into Spain. The Spaniards did not hesitate and immediately countered, with Salma Paralluelo burying it off the crossbar.
Again, it was Sanchez trying to make an immediate response, with her played on the left hand side before cutting inside and putting in a shot, only to again put it wide. Later, with the US countering hard, it was again Sanchez, this time putting Rose Lavelle on in behind Spain’s backline. Lavelle got into the box with Spain’s defenders grabbing at her and then went down. And then came the whistle! … Offside.
The US would keep pushing for their first goal as the half wound down, with Giselle Thompson putting in a threatening cross into the box. It unfortunately only found a Spanish defender, but, after the clearance, the US won a foul. Lavelle put the ball in well, but the resulting shot was easily saved by Spain’s keeper. From there, the half fizzled out.
In the second half, Spain elected to make a handful of changes while Emma Hayes chose not to make any changes to the US’s lineup. And that faith in her team was quickly rewarded. Wilson found herself on the ball on the counter with Spain’s backline scrambling, and then shouldered past her Spanish marker. She put in a pass which made it all the way to the otherside before Sanchez cleaned it up. She moved towards goal but Spain’s defense didn’t close down, allowing her to put in a clean shot to the farpost. 2-1 and the US back in the game.
At around the hour mark came the changes, with the quintet of Michelle Cooper, Alyssa Thompson, Lily Yohannes, Jaelin Howell, and Mallory Swanson coming on for Trinity Rodman, Lavelle, Hutton, Gisele Thompson, and Linday Heaps. The subs seemed to make an impact, with Yohannes connecting with Swanson who shot and forced a good save ahead of the 70th minute. Hayes elected to make more changes, bringing on Kate del Fava and Pietra Tordin for their debuts, along with Emma Sears.
From there, with just about 10 minutes remaing, the US really began pushing Spain. They got more and more time in Spain’s final third, winning a slew of corners. But chances weren’t quite falling into place. And then that changed. del Fava played a long ball to Cooper who found Swanson who buried it neatly on the half volley into the bottom far corner. 2-2 and a level game.
From there, the US continued to push, now looking for a winner. They first made a dangerous cross across the box, but couldn’t find anyone. That eventually became another corner, but the US couldn’t turn it into a shot. Spain did get a threatening moment where they looked like they could get in behind the backline, but Tullis-Joyce was there to sweep the ball away. The US got one more chance, where Yohannes took a curling shot from outside the box, which took a deflection and forced a fantastic diving save from the Spanish keeper. And then came the final whistle.
It was a marked offensive improvement from the first game where the US failed to get on the scoreboard. There are still clearly things to work on in defense, but it was a more encouraging performance for the US. What did you think of the US’s performance? Tell us in the comments below.