United States midfielder Rose Lavelle said the team's upcoming pair of matches against reigning World Cup champions Spain will be a "benchmark" for the Americans as they prepare for the 2027 World Cup.
"I think for us, it's always [about] going into each camp, building off the previous one and knowing that we're going to be taking learnings away that are going to help set us up for the next year," Lavelle told ESPN prior to Wednesday's training session at U.S. Soccer's National Training Center. "It'll be a really good benchmark for us and a really great learning opportunity and growth moment for us, regardless of what the result ends up being."
USWNT head coach Emma Hayes said on Tuesday that she "absolutely pushed to get" Spain as an opponent during this window and added that preparation against the best teams is what the Americans need. "They also know that for them, they are playing another top team, and I want them to feel the full force of what that looks like," Hayes told reporters.
Spain will be the USWNT's stiffest test yet. Lavelle said that the team is focused on being "locked in defensively" and solving Spain's pressure with the ball. Spain won the most recent meeting between the teams, 2-0 in Pamplona, in 2022 as part of preparation for the 2023 World Cup, which Spain won.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing