Spain Reminds The USWNT Where They Stand

CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA — For decades, the U.S. Women's National Team stood at the top of the mountain, where the air is thinnest. They defended their position with ferocity. They didn't win every major tournament, but they won most of them, and were contenders in all. Their identity on the pitch, more than anything, was being the best. That changed with the 2023 World Cup, when the two-time defending champions flamed out in the round of 16 after barely surviving the group stage. Spain went on to win the tournament, and deserved to. That result, combined with Spaniard-heavy Barcelona's simultaneous surge on the European stage, made it clear that La Roja had pushed the USWNT off the side of the mountain and taken their place at the summit. The USWNT might have won the 2024 Olympics, but anyone with eyes that see will tell you that Spain remains the better team. The USWNT are under no illusions about this. "All of these things that we're teaching are for this opponent," head coach Emma Hayes told her players Saturday after losing to Spain, 2-0, in the first of two friendlies. "And the reason I say that is because that's our barometer of success."

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