WASHINGTON — For the first 14 minutes, Saturday’s clash between the best women’s soccer teams on the planet looked more like a matchup between sides with dozens of gaps in the FIFA rankings.
No. 1 and reigning World Cup champion Spain scored for just the third time in 96 matches in 5½ years, just a few goals behind No. 2 and reigning Olympic champion USA.
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The Americans created plenty of chances the rest of the match but failed to find the final touch, including a penalty kick, in a 2-0 loss in front of a crowd of 19,220 at Audi Field.
The match was the first of two friendlies between the titans and, while the result was of no consequence, it confirmed Spain’s place at the top of the sport and preserved La Roja’s coveted status nine months ahead of the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.
The sides will meet again on Tuesday night at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, before the Americans turn their attention to CONCACAF’s World Cup qualifiers in the Dallas area later next month. They need to win just one game against 78th-ranked El Salvador to extend their streak of playing in all 10 World Cups.
Trinity Rodman of the United States controls the ball during an international friendly match against Spain at Audi Field on October 10, 2026 in Washington.
(Patrick Smith via Getty Images)
The U.S. and Spain have only met four times before, not since 2022, and while the U.S. has set the standard for women’s soccer excellence for several decades, Spain has risen rapidly in recent years.
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U.S. coach Emma Hayes started seven players with World Cup or Olympic experience, while calling on four women in the backline who have never played together. Tierna Davidson and Kennedy Wesley were partnered in central defense – a position that, at full strength, would normally contain Naomi Girma and Emily Sonnett. Both are injured.
Despite missing star players Aitana Bonmatí and Mariona Caldentey through injury, Spain’s attack surged from the start.
About three minutes into the game, the Americans trailed after failing to clear the end zone. Laia Kodina won the ball in midfield. The construction of Spain was fast and difficult. Four passes left Patri Guijarro with a right-footed move, leaving time and space outside the penalty area.
In the 14th minute, Spain doubled the lead as they went from end to end. Goalkeeper Adriana Nanclares sent a long ball to midfield. Lucia Corrales nodded to Edna Imade, who freed Salma Paralluelo from the left. Paralluelo was working over Davidson before hitting a cross into the heart of the box. Eva Navarro scored an 11-yard run to the near side.
Rarely in their experienced history did the Americans fall behind by two goals. (Spain and Mexico have done this to them in recent years.)
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It remained that way until half-time, but it wasn’t impossible for the Americans in an open game where Spain pushed their defenders forward. Trinity Rodman has two heavy touchdowns in the box. Alyssa Thompson wreaked havoc on the right wing and cleared the shot off the line. Nanclares touched Sophia Wilson’s nasty post. Lily Johannes missed the far post by a yard and Wilson by a whisker.
The USA continued to threaten after the break, especially when Rodman fed Wilson for an open goal. The offside flag stayed down, but replays showed Wilson a step ahead of the last defender.
The USA’s pressure put Spain behind, but without a final touch – and in some cases, not even a shot in good position – the margin remained the same. Hayes switched to the bench midway through the half and inserted NWSL leading scorer Ashley Sanchez for her first U.S. appearance in two years and Mallory Swanson in her first match since the 2024 Olympics. Swanson’s entry completed the first dreaded “Triple Espresso” attack with Rodman and Wilson since the Olympics.
Sanchez created a quick opportunity and Wilson went down in the box. Play continued, but video replay confirmed the foul. Rodman passed the ball to Johannes, who at 19 was the youngest player in the United States. More than 60 of his family and friends were in attendance, playing just a few miles from his childhood home in Springfield, Virginia.
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On the free kick, he stuttered and telegraphed his shot. Nanclares jumped to his right and blocked the blow. US chances kept coming and going. Spain’s Atheea del Castillo was sent off for pulling the hair of substitute Michelle Cooper in the dying moments.
US records
Before the game, retired left-back Crystal Dunn had 160 caps, 25 goals, a World Cup title and an Olympic gold medal in her 12-year international career. “He’s been a role model for a lot of people because you wonder when he’s going to come through the program,” Hayes said. “The representation wasn’t the same. So for black girls up and down the country to have an opportunity to see Crystal in the position that she was in, to look up to, to be encouraged, to be inspired, I’ve heard that over and over again.”
Newcomers Trinity Byars, Jordan Silkowitz and Evelyn Shores were out of form and left with 23 players on the active roster.