Disjointed USWNT has midfield weakness exposed

The U.S. women's nationalist team mislaid back-to-back games for the archetypal clip successful 5 years aft an uninspiring 2-0 loss to a second-choice Spain squad successful Pamplona connected Tuesday.

Laia Codina, successful her debut for the elder Spain nationalist team, opened the scoring successful the 39th infinitesimal aft the U.S. doubly failed to wide a country footwear that dropped successful the box. Real Madrid prima Esther Gonzalez added the dagger 18 minutes from clip with a saccharine volley aft floating successful betwixt 3 U.S. defenders unmarked.

With the 2-0 nonaccomplishment aft falling to England time earlier, the U.S. women person suffered back-to-back defeats portion conceding aggregate goals for the archetypal clip since 2001.

JUMP TO: Player ratings | Best/worst performers | Highlights and notable moments | Post-match quotes | Key stats | Upcoming fixtures

Rapid reaction

1. USWNT panic comes aboriginal this cycle

U.S. caput manager Vlatko Andonovski said that helium wanted to docket these England and Spain matches for the October model to enactment done immoderate of the team's issues good up of the 2023 World Cup. Two losses 5 days isolated exposed plentifulness of them.

They people the archetypal back-to-back losses for the U.S. women since the 2017 SheBelieves Cup, erstwhile they fell 1-0 to England successful New Jersey 3 days earlier an embarrassing 3-0 nonaccomplishment to France successful Washington, D.C., that officially ended Jill Ellis' 3-5-2 experiment.

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This clip around, it was a nonaccomplishment to Spain that followed 1 to England (both distant from home), and the operation of mediocre performances with the discourse of Spain fielding a second-choice team, makes this a debased constituent -- astatine minimum since past year's Olympics, and possibly successful Andonovski's tenure.

It is, however, a acquainted feeling, if U.S. fans are looking for a constituent of optimism. In 2015, the U.S. got worked implicit successful a 2-0 nonaccomplishment to France successful Lorient to unfastened the calendar year. That affable answered unit questions and is an overlooked constituent of the team's 2015 World Cup triumph. Four years later, it was the aforesaid story: a 3-1 nonaccomplishment successful Le Havre to unfastened the year, and yet the U.S. won the World Cup -- including a quarterfinal triumph implicit France successful Paris.

If the aforesaid signifier is to clasp this cycle, overmuch needs to change. There are some idiosyncratic unit issues to code and larger questions with the system.

Granted, the U.S. was missing respective starters successful some games and had to scope heavy into the seat successful positions similar full-back. And undoubtedly, the value of the Sally Yates report and the ongoing fallout wrong the NWSL weighs heavy connected players.

All that discourse is necessary. Still, the U.S. looked mediocre against Spain, and that needs contiguous correction against Germany astatine location doubly successful November.

2. The USWNT midfield gets overrun, again

England wholly controlled the midfield successful Friday's 2-1 triumph implicit the USWNT, pinging the shot astir the Americans and playing retired of the U.S.' precocious property with large composure.

On Tuesday, Spain weathered the aboriginal precocious property and played retired of it successful their signature benignant -- adjacent without astir of their commencement players -- and soon recovered the crippled and clogged up the midfield, forcing errant passes from Lindsey Horan and mostly isolating Rose Lavelle.

The biggest question astir this U.S. strategy arsenic a full is successful midfield. It is not a caller question -- the midfield conscionable got enactment nether its astir strenuous 2 tests to date, and it got severely outplayed successful both.

Horan struggled against Spain from a deeper presumption and Lavelle tried to transportation overmuch of the attacking load, yet moving up to the helping presumption erstwhile Ashley Sanchez entered the lucifer successful the 64th minute. Andi Sullivan inactive shoulders the load of filling a antiaircraft midfield relation that was truthful singularly filled by Julie Ertz successful the erstwhile cycle. Ertz cannot beryllium replaced (a speech had advertisement nauseam astatine this point), surely not by 1 person.

Is it clip to alteration systems? Could Sullivan and Sam Coffey -- oregon immoderate different imaginable enactment -- harvester to supply much screen successful a treble pivot? Even if so, however does Lavelle -- oregon Catarina Macario, erstwhile steadfast and if successful that relation -- get much enactment successful the buildout if much resources request to beryllium allocated to antiaircraft midfield roles?

An X-factor present is Sam Mewis, who has not played each twelvemonth owed to a genu wounded that started retired arsenic being described by U.S. Soccer and the Kansas City Current arsenic minor, but yet shelved her for each of 2022. Mewis is different box-to-box midfield enactment who tin assistance aggregate U.S. deficiencies close now. She emerged arsenic a apical subordinate successful the satellite from 2020-21.

None of these questions are easy, and a power distant from the 4-3-3 has agelong seemed similar an unthinkable solution. This 4-3-3 became the defining modern strategy of the U.S. successful absorption to that 2017 SheBelieves Cup disaster, erstwhile France tore isolated the three-back and it was wide to each that thing drastic needed to change. Back-to-back losses, adjacent with the concession that large pieces were missing, marque this a precise akin moment.

3. A large effect for young Spain side, with caveats

Spain leaves this planetary interruption with a 1-1 gully against Sweden and a 2-0 triumph implicit satellite No. 1 United States. The triumph implicit the U.S. mightiness really springiness Spain an extracurricular accidental of climbing into the apical six of the FIFA rankings to beryllium released connected Thursday, which would marque them 1 of the seeded teams for this month's World Cup draw.

All that happened this week with 15 of the federation's apical players, who were not called up for these games aft calling for drastic changes wrong the federation, citing wellness concerns. The accusation were clear: caput manager Jorge Vilda fostered this antagonistic environment.

Spain's federation instantly backed Vilda and publically scrutinized the players, saying they could look superior suspensions. Instead, Vilda pulled players up from Spain's palmy younker program, 1 that presently holds the U-17 and U-20 World Cup titles. What this effect means for those players, successful their idiosyncratic journeys cannot beryllium understated.

It besides indispensable beryllium said that the problems successful Spain are serious, and the dichotomy of them successful the aftermath of the Yates study successful the U.S. is disturbing. Vilda doubled down and dug successful to support himself past week, saying "I request the utmost respect" from players and refusing to sermon those who were not successful camp.

Neither Vilda nor the Spanish federation are hiding from wide retaliation against immoderate of the champion players successful the world. What's worse, they mightiness not adjacent admit it arsenic such.

So, Spain's young players should observe this effect for themselves. Spain, arsenic a federation, and Vilda, arsenic the coach, requires overmuch much scrutiny.

Player ratings

USWNT: Casey Murphy, 6. Hailie Mace, 6. Alana Cook, 5. Becky Sauerbrunn, 6. Carson Pickett, 6. Andi Sullivan, 5. Lindsey Horan, 5. Rose Lavelle, 5. Sophia Smith, 6. Trinity Rodman, 5. Megan Rapinoe, 5. Sam Coffey, 6. Ashley Hatch, 5. Sofia Huerta, 5. Ashley Sanchez, 5. Crystal Dunn, 5. Alyssa Thompson, 6.

Spain: Misa Rodriguez, 5. Ivana Andres, 6. Rocio Galvez, 7. Laia Codina, 7. Olga Carmona, 8. Oihane Hernandez, 7. Maitane Lopez, 6. Maite Oroz, 6. Claudia Zornoza, 6. Esther Gonzalez, 7. Alba Redondo, 6. Ane Azkona, N/A. Marta Cardona, 6. Athenea del Castillo, 6. Alyssa Thompson, 6.

Best and worst performers

BEST: Olga Carmona, Spain

The near wing-back unopen down Trinity Rodman and past Sophia Smith, was large 1-v-1 some successful wide and cardinal areas, and sparked Spain's onslaught from heavy areas.

WORST: Lindsey Horan, USWNT

Twice gave the shot distant successful unsafe positions successful the U.S.' antiaircraft 3rd and struggled to find the crippled alongside the remainder of the U.S. midfield.

Highlights and notable moments

For U.S. fans, these whitethorn beryllium considered lowlights, but Spain was the much unsafe broadside arsenic the hosts recovered the backmost of the nett twice.

First Laia Codina scored connected a acceptable portion successful the 39th minute:

Spain takes the pb against the USWNT‼️ pic.twitter.com/Iz2czPnsdv

After the break, the USWNT continued to look level and the visitors' hopes of a comeback were dashed successful the 72nd minute.

Esther González's one-touch onslaught was a beauty, and made it wide this lucifer was over.

After the match: What the players and managers said

USWNT manager Vlatko Andonovski: "We knew these were going to beryllium 2 pugnacious opponents, we knew these were going to beryllium 2 pugnacious games. That's wherefore we came here, to larn much astir america this agelong earlier the World Cup and hopefully get prepared amended for the World Cup."

Andonovski: "As a coach, I volition instrumentality afloat work implicit it earlier anyone else. We're goimg to spell backmost and look astatine what are the details, what are the moments that they were amended than us, and why."

Key stats (provided by ESPN Stats & Information)

• This was the USWNT's archetypal opening fractional without a changeable connected people since their 1-0 nonaccomplishment to Canada successful the semifinals of the Olympics connected Aug. 2, 2021.

• This was the archetypal clip the USWNT allowed a acceptable portion extremity since July 21, 2021 against Sweden successful the opening crippled of the Olympics.

Up next

USWNT: For players whose NWSL clubs person qualified for playoffs, they volition displacement their absorption to nine shot successful the aftermath of the Sally Yates probe into maltreatment wrong the league. For planetary duty, the USWNT adjacent faces Germany connected Nov. 10 successful Florida.

Spain: The Spanish broadside has nary upcoming planetary fixtures arsenic the programme still deals with subordinate discontent and protests against the Spanish federation.