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Jeff Kassouf
Multiple Authors
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A buzzing, sellout crowd at Audi Field fell momentarily silent less than three minutes into Saturday’s heavyweight women’s soccer clash between Spain and the United States. Spain midfielder Patri Guijarro ripped a shot into the net from outside the penalty area, punishing the Americans for exactly the type of lapse they could not afford.
Spain’s second goal came 11 minutes later, and the United States’ hopes of showing they could unseat the reigning World Cup champions looked like a far-flung folly. Spain held on to defeat the U.S. 2-0 despite the Americans taking more shots and creating more opportunities.
“That’s the efficiency I’m talking about,” U.S. head coach Emma Hayes said after the match.
“You can’t afford to go 2-0 down against the best team in the world, especially the way we conceded those goals.”
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The U.S. women were twice undone by mistakes of their own doing, lessons learned the hard way for a group still finding its feet. Their back line collapsed and gave Guijarro, one of the world’s best players, ample space to shoot less than 25 yards from goal. Eva Navarro scored Spain’s second goal as an unmarked runner into the box.
The United States was the better team for the 76 minutes that followed. The Americans created more chances: a penalty that Lily Yohannes had saved, a long shot from Sophia Wilson that got tipped of the crossbar, a goal of Wilson’s called back after review because she was offside. The U.S.’ agile forward line got behind Spain’s high defensive line throughout the match.
And in the second half, the U.S. finally started to play through the feet of their midfielders, like they practiced throughout the week, instead of hitting long hopeful balls.
They were, however, inefficient — “We weren’t clinical at all in the final third,” forward Trinity Rodman said — and they paid the price against a Spanish team that proved again why it is the world’s best even when it isn’t the superior team on the day, and even when it is missing several top players like three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí.
“It’s those kind of details that a team like Spain can capitalize on,” U.S. defender Emily Fox said.
Hayes said the specific details are between her and her team, and the lessons “will land even harder now.” Fox mentioned reacting more quickly, getting goal-side of attackers, and closing space instead of dropping too deep. Rodman, taking ownership of her own role in the team’s poor finishing, said the team lacked connection at times.
“We’ll do a better job at that next game of keeping our heads up and staying more unified,” Rodman said. “I don’t think we were together enough in the poor decision making and the bad moments in the first half.”
Still, Hayes and U.S. players were surprisingly upbeat after the match. The gap between Spain as the world’s best, and the second-ranked (and Olympic champion) United States has closed, Hayes said, an ironic statement after years of discourse about the gap closing on the four-time World Cup champions, the United States.
“I know we’re a good team,” Hayes said. “I think we’re much closer to them than we were three years ago.”
Hayes rattled off stats like expected goals — 2.26 to 0.43 in favor of the U.S., per ESPN Global Research — on multiple occasions and said she would rather be the team creating those chances. She spoke about being the team that creates the most chances in world soccer, according to U.S. Soccer’s data, and she lamented the fact that they are not the best goal-scoring team in the world. That doesn’t worry Hayes, she said, but she is frustrated by their lack of efficiency.
“I’m frustrated, I’m disappointed, but I’m not deterred,” Hayes said.
Some of the United States’ frustration lies in the fact these lessons are not new. To quote the late NFL coach Dennis Green, Spain is exactly who the Americans thought they were, and they let them win.
“If you give them too much space, they will punish you,” Hayes said.
This group of U.S. players is still relatively new and inexperienced. Like in June, when the United States lost on the road to Brazil, some lessons have to be learned the hard way. And like in June, the U.S. gets a rematch against the same world-class opponent in a few days. The U.S. beat Brazil the second time around.
Rodman said the team will probably all be on their tablets watching game film on Saturday night on the bus ride up to Philadelphia for the rematch.
Saturday’s loss was another lesson in the fine margins that exist at the summit of world soccer. For decades, they largely went in the United States’ favor. But Spain — with a rich pool of world-class, technical players and a clear tactical identity — is the team to beat these days. They are efficient, opportunistic and precise.
The U.S. women could rue their chances as unlucky, but that cannot be the mentality of a World Cup-winning team.
“Unlucky is being struck by lightning,” Hayes deadpanned when presented with the theory.
