The U.S. Women’s National Team is less than two months away from facing El Salvador in the Concacaf W Championship Quarterfinals, where a win would earn a berth to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
But before the U.S. can punch its ticket to next summer’s tournament, it must first face the reigning champions.
The USWNT is hosting Spain for two international matches on Oct. 10 and 13, the first meetings between the sides since 2022. Within those four years, Spain won the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, won two UEFA Women's Nations League titles and took over the top spot of the FIFA world rankings. La Roja has already earned its spot in the next year’s World Cup after winning its Group in UEFA Qualifiers in June.
USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps spoke to media this week about the opportunity to play Spain twice with World Cup qualifying on the horizon.
“These are kind of the most important things to accomplish prior to a World Cup,” Heaps said. "You want to play against the best to prepare fully. You don't want to be facing these teams the first time in a World Cup, and I think they would probably say the same about us. It's the ultimate preparation, especially going into qualifying in the next window.”
This is the third World Cup Qualifiers that Heaps is preparing for, having been a part of both USA’s 2019 and 2023 World Cup squads. The midfielder, who leads the October roster with 178 caps, was also on the last three Olympic rosters. She said playing against a wide variety of teams is critical before heading into a tournament.
Spain will become the fourth top-10 opponent the USA has faced this year, joining Japan (5), Brazil (7) and Canada (9). The USWNT’s last matches were four months ago – a 2-1 loss followed by a scrappy 1-0 win against Brazil in São Paulo and Fortaleza.
“The games that we've put together this past year have been incredible for us, but also the difference in styles,” Heaps said. “We came out in a really good way against Brazil in the second game, and now we'replaying a very different opponent. You obviously have to respect the opponent and know their strengths and weaknesses, but what can we go and put out there? I think this team is in a really good place; we just haven't been together in quite some time. So, I’m excited to play against one of the best teams in the world.”
Though Spain will be without their star midfielder and three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí, their squad does feature two-time world player of the year Alèxia Putellas and forwards Edna Imade and Claudia Pina, with the latter three having scored 11 of Spain’s 21 goals this year.
Spain has been held scoreless just three times in the past two years while averaging just over three goals per game. USWNT defender Kennedy Wesley said Spain’s fluidity and efficiency in the final third will be one of the biggest challenges for her and the backline.
“They're so dynamic in their movements and their interchange when they have the ball,” Wesley said. “It'll be really important for us to be disciplined, not get pulled out of position so that we can disrupt their attack... not allowing them space and time because that's when they're the most successful.”
Whether it’s playing against the top countries in the world, traveling to hostile away environments or throwing uncapped players into the fire, it has all been a part of the journey for the USWNT to qualify for, and ultimately win, the next World Cup. These matches against Spain are the next steps in everything head coach Emma Hayes and her team have been preparing for over the last few years.
“For us, it's always (about) going into each camp building off the previous one and knowing that we're going to be taking learnings away that are going to help set us up for the next year,” midfielder Rose Lavelle said. "It'll be a really good benchmark for us and a really great learning opportunity and growth moment for us, regardless of what the result ends up being. Obviously, we always go into every game with the expectation that we want to win, but we also want to use it as a huge growth opportunity.”
