Soccer
The U.S. Women’s National Team’s final tuneups ahead of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying will come against top opposition.
Emma Hayes’ squad will take on No. 1-ranked Spain in a pair of October friendlies, U.S. Soccer announced Monday. Audi Field in Washington, D.C. will play host to the first match on October 10 while Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania will host the second on Oct. 13.
Longtime USWNT defender Crystal Dunn will be honored at the Oct. 10 match after announcing her retirement earlier this year. Dunn played for the Washington Spirit in the NWSL, winning the league’s MVP award in 2015.
Spain sealed its World Cup berth in June after finishing with victories over England and Iceland to register 15 points out of a potential 18 overall. Automatic qualification helped Spain avoid the UEFA Women’s World Cup playoffs, which will take place in the October FIFA window.
October’s head-to-head series will mark the fifth and sixth all-time meetings between the two countries. Spain registered up its first-ever victory over the Americans in 2022, winning 2-0 in Pamplona.
The USWNT have won three of the four all-time meetings between the two heavyweights.
“Two more fantastic matches,” said Hayes. “We’ve desperately wanted to get Spain on our schedule, but the difficulties of scheduling the top teams during the women’s international calendar are well known, so to be able to get these two games on the East Coast will be the perfect tests before we head into World Cup qualifying at the end of the year.”
The USWNT most recently split a two-match road series with Brazil in June.
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