The United States Prevail Over An Up and Coming Spanish Squad
Two penalty kick goals from the United States forward Megan Rapinoe propels the U.S. to victory over a surprisingly challenging Spanish squad in the round-of-16 of the Women’s World Cup.
U.S. Coach Jill Ellis said, “No game is ever easy in this tournament,” in a post-game interview.
On a hot, summer Monday afternoon at Stade Auguste-Delaune II in Reims, the U.S. Women’s National Team survived a rugged match against Spain and will advance to the Quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup.
Ellis also added, “You can talk tactics, but heart, grit, and resolve — that’s a big part of World Cup soccer.”
Heart, grit, and resolve were three crucial qualities that the United States possessed in Monday’s match against Spain, and they must continue to show these qualities if they want to win this year’s Women’s World Cup.
In the sixth minute, a penalty kick sent to the back of the net by Megan Rapinoe gave the Americans an early lead against the Spaniards. But the Spaniard quickly struck back, as Jennifer Hermoso chipped an open shot over United Staes goalie Alyssa Naeher after a disastrous pass by Naeher.
This mistake by Naeher forced the Americans to regain the lead over a young, gritty Spanish side with nothing to lose.
In the 32nd minute, United States midfielder Sam Mewis unintentionally ran over Spanish midfielder Vicky Losada as she was sprinting ahead to get open for a pass. This collision caused an injury to Losada’s head, eventually resulting in Losada subbing out of the game. Losada’s injury seemed to tick off the rest of her Spanish teammates. They saw the incident as a dirty play by Mewis and they retaliated in the second half racking up 17 fouls by the final whistle.
In the 71st minute, American midfielder Rose Lavelle was tripped up inside in the penalty box and a controversial call awarded the United States with a penalty kick. Spanish players argued that Lavelle stumbled over own self, but VAR footage declared the foul call as correct. Megan Rapinoe would proceed to blast the penalty past the Spanish goalie and regain the lead for the United States.
After Rapinoe’s goal, the score stood and the match concluded with the United States taking the 2–1 victory. The Americans will next face the French in the Quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup and must continue their efforts of “heart, grit, and resolve” if they want to defeat the talented hosting nation. As for the Spaniards, they are a young team that is still growing and will most definitely improve by the time of the next World Cup.
