US Women's Soccer Team Stages Comeback to Draw with World Champion Spain

CHESTER, Pa. — The U.S. women's national soccer team demonstrated resilience Tuesday night, coming back from a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 draw against World Cup champion Spain. The result offered a more encouraging performance for the Americans after a 2-0 loss to the same Spanish team just three days prior.

Spain took an early lead in the match, with Alexia Putellas scoring the opening goal and then assisting on Salma Paralluelo's second goal just five minutes later, which doubled their advantage. This mirrored the scoreline from their previous encounter.

However, the U.S. team mounted a second-half comeback. Ashley Sanchez scored the first goal for the Americans, assisted by Sophia Wilson, tucking the ball past Spain's goalkeeper. In the 86th minute, Mallory Swanson netted the equalizer, marking her first goal for the national team since the 2024 Olympic gold medal game. Swanson's goal, followed by a jubilant celebration with her teammates, secured the draw.

"That's the U.S.'s DNA," said U.S. player Jaelin Howell after the match. "It's just grit and fire and never-say-die mentality, and so I think that's what you saw from everybody today. And proud of the group, but obviously a lot of work to do, too, and everybody knows that continuous climb together, and it's important."

The upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup, scheduled for next summer in Brazil, sees Spain as the reigning champion and a formidable opponent. The U.S. team, currently ranked No. 2 in the FIFA world rankings, acknowledges this shift in the global hierarchy.

"They're world class, we're still in progress," U.S. coach Emma Hayes stated. "They're deserving of being world champions. Our job is to hunt that."

These two exhibition matches against Spain were designed to test the U.S. team and identify areas for improvement ahead of their World Cup qualification journey, which begins with the Concacaf W Championship in November.

"It was nice to leave on a little bit better note tonight," midfielder Lindsey Heaps commented. "Obviously we're still disappointed because I think we could get the win tonight, but this is a tough opponent and it's a difficult team to play against with some quality, quality players."

Spain, even without key player Aitana Bonmatí, showcased their strength throughout the friendlies. U.S. coach Hayes acknowledged Spain's status, noting, "Doesn’t matter if they were missing some of their best players, they demonstrated in two games why they're world champions. We have to get to that level."

The U.S. women's national team has a history of success, having finished no lower than third place in eight of the nine World Cup tournaments. However, their earliest-ever exit in the Round of 16 during the last World Cup, where Spain emerged victorious, underscores the challenge ahead.

"That's the goal," said Sanchez when asked about reclaiming the top spot. "When you're on a team like the U.S., I mean, that's always the standard that we've had. … The goal, it's always the goal to win."