The U.S. women’s national team fell 2-0 to Spain on Tuesday in Pamplona, as goals from Laia Codina and Esther González took down the reigning World Cup champions.
The American side hoped to come back stronger, after losing to England 1-0 in Wembley just days before. But instead, the second friendly marked the first back-to-back defeats for the USWNT since 2017 when they lost to England and France in the group stage of the SheBelieves Cup.
Though their five-year-and-seven-month streak came to an end, head coach Vlatko Andonovski insists the team will use the experience to learn.
“We have a winning mentality, and when we don’t win, it hurts,” head coach Vlatko Andonovski said.
“It hurts all of us. It is a tough moment for us as a team. We knew these were going to be two tough opponents, two tough games. That’s why we came here, to learn more about us before the World Cup and to get prepared better for the World Cup.”
Andonovski pointed out that the American side entered the October window without key figures, attempting to tone down the concerns caused by recent performances. Alex Morgan and Mallory Pugh were most notably missing from the roster, with Emily Fox and Taylor Kornieck also absent.
“We have 15 players who aren’t available for selection because of injury. From every line, we are missing very important players.”
The team will have other opportunities to prepare before heading off to the World Cup in eight months, hosting Germany twice in November.
Credit: 90min.com
