La selección española de fútbol capitaneada por Sonia Bermúdez secured a 2-0 victory against the United States at Audi Field in Washington, concluding the match with goals from Patri Guijarro and Eva Navarro in the opening ten minutes. Until that stage, football remained the central focus as Spain distanced themselves through clinical striking capability with two goals in the opening ten minutes of play from Guijarro and Navarro. The encounter also featured standout saves by Adriana Nanclares, who stopped a penalty kick and thwarted pressure from American players including Thompson, Wilson, Rodman, Lavelle, and Yohannes.
Match Action and Goals
Spain established an early advantage through Guijarro and Navarro during the first ten minutes of play. Estados Unidos mounted a high-pressure response, creating numerous scoring opportunities that tested the Spanish defense. Nanclares handled multiple threats, including sending a Wilson shot against the crossbar and denying a penalty attempt by Yohannes. The build-up to the second goal originated from Nanclares, whose distribution reached Lucía Corrales. Corrales connected with Imade, whose deep pass found Salma Paralluelo to deliver a cross for Navarro’s finish at the far post. The final minutes featured greater parity as the United States reduced their pressing due to fatigue while Spain began to play with more freedom.
Expulsion of Athenea del Castillo
In the negative highlight of the fixture, Athenea del Castillo was shown a red card after entering the pitch in the 88th minute as a substitute for Paralluelo. At the 90+1 minute mark, the referee was alerted by the VAR and reviewed footage before dismissing Athenea for grabbing Cooper by the ponytail, leaving Cooper on the ground. Curiously, just a few minutes later at a distance of 6,000 kilometers, Vinicius would receive a red card for a similar action.
Following the fixture, teammates addressed the incident. Estamos con Athenea, estoy segura de que no fue intencionado, ni de mala fe. No es agradable, estaremos con ella,
stated Patri Guijarro. Eva Navarro added, Es normal que esté fastidiada. No he podido ver todavía la acción, pero entiendo que ha sido sin querer. Solo nos queda animarla.
Next Fixture
El martes, the reigning world champion is scheduled to play its second match against the Olympic champion in Philadelphia.
Worth a look
