The United States women’s national team didn’t want to repeat Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Spain on Tuesday night. It took a pretty epic second half to avoid unwanted déjà vu.
The USWNT erased a 2-0 deficit against the defending World Cup champions and clawed back a 2-2 draw after a fantastic second-half performance.
Spain took the lead in the first half thanks to goals from two-time Women’s Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas and Salma Paralluelo.
Putellas was a monster in the first half, also finishing with an assist, and could easily have had a second.
But the United States came back strong thanks to goals from Ashley Sanchez and Mallory Swanson.
Spain finished the match with 56% possession, but it was the Americans who led overall in shots (15-12), shots on goal (6-5) and corners (8-5). The United States was downright dominant at times in the second half.
Overall, USWNT fans were happy with the performance:
The game played out very differently than head coach Emma Hayes said she wanted, at least in the first half.
“My big request to the team is to do it sooner,” she told reporters before the rematch. “Start earlier with the things that really matter.”
Instead, the game fell into a similar cadence: Spain was much better earlier, but the United States slowly took control of the match. This time, however, a strong second-half performance also resulted in goals.
“I think we’re definitely a lot closer to them than we were three years ago,” Hayes told reporters after Saturday’s rematch.
Tuesday’s effort should only strengthen that belief.
Gn sports
