Washington’s Audi Field offered Spain an early foothold against the Olympic champions, with Patri Guijarro and Eva Navarro scoring inside the opening 14 minutes to secure a 2-0 win over the United States.
Guijarro, the Barcelona midfielder, struck first after only three minutes with a shot from outside the penalty area. The rapid advantage gave Spain the kind of opening they wanted on American soil, though the Mallorca-born international felt her side could have made the evening more comfortable by recovering possession higher up the pitch.
“Taking the lead almost as soon as the match begins is always positive,” Guijarro said. “People always tell me to have a go, and fortunately this one went in.”
Spain’s high press fell short at times
Despite the final scoreline, the United States enjoyed periods of clear control. Guijarro said Spain’s usual aggressive pressing did not deliver enough turnovers in advanced areas, allowing the hosts to spend more time in possession than La Roja would have liked.
“I do not think the press helped us very much,” she said. “We could have supported each other better to win the ball back closer to their goal. We did not recover it there often enough, and that would have benefited us.”
She credited the Americans for their own forward pressure, but identified Spain’s route through it: quick combinations and finding their attacking midfielders in the space behind the United States midfield line.
“They are very good at pressing forward,” Guijarro said. “But when we could put together short combinations and locate our attacking midfielders behind their midfield, we were able to keep the ball better.”
Navarro returns to a familiar wide role
Eva Navarro doubled Spain’s lead in the 14th minute, finishing first time after a pass from Salma Paralluelo. The Real Madrid player began on the right wing after head coach Sonia Bermúdez instructed her to take on opponents, deliver crosses and shoot whenever the opening appeared.
Navarro has spent much of the current campaign at full-back, but said the wide attacking role remains the position she has known throughout her career.
“This season I have been playing at full-back, but I have been a winger all my life,” she said.
On her goal, Navarro added: “When Salma gave me the ball, I knew it was an incredible pass. I arrived unmarked, managed to hit it first time, and it went into the top corner.”
