Mallory Swanson came off the bench to score an 86th-minute equaliser as the United States fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Spain in the teams' second friendly in Philadelphia.
The 2023 World Cup winners saw Clara Pinedo work Phallon Tullis-Joyce after ghosting in behind, but the Manchester United goalkeeper was powerless to stop another Women's Super League star from putting Spain in front in the 27th minute.
A patient move resulted in Clara Serrajordi sliding a pass across the face of goal, and with Pinedo stepping over it, Alexia Putellas had the simplest of finishes at the far post.
Only five minutes later, the London City Lionesses playmaker had an assist to go with her goal as she intercepted Tullis-Joyce's miscued clearance and offloaded to Salma Paralluelo, whose finish cracked off the angle of post and crossbar on its way in.
Emma Hayes' hosts were given a lifeline in the 49th minute, though, as Spain's half-time substitute Ona Batlle backed off Ashley Sanchez, who curled into the far corner.
Misa Rodriguez made one big one-v-one save to thwart Swanson, but there was no denying the Chicago Stars forward late on. Three substitutes were involved in the move as Michelle Cooper kept Kate Del Fava's long ball forward alive and fed Swanson, who drilled an inch-perfect finish into the bottom-left corner.
And only a wondersave from Misa denied the USA a late winner, as she got down to her left to stop Lily Yohannes' attempt from curling inside the far post.
Game of two halves for Hayes
After the game, Hayes praised her players for showing a "fearless" approach in the second half and said that having "nothing to lose" had benefited them.
And the underlying stats certainly back that point up. In the opening 45 minutes, Spain had seven shots to the USA's six but dominated the expected goals battle, racking up 1.69 xG to 0.23.
After the interval, both teams had eight attempts apiece, but the USA racked up 0.53 xG to Spain's 0.32, not allowing the visitors a single shot on target.
Only three days earlier, the USA had never truly looked like rallying from another 2-0 deficit against the same opponents. Having conceded twice in the opening 14 minutes on that occasion, it was the earliest they had gone 2-0 down since March 2017 against France, and the scoreline held until full-time.
For Swanson, her goal ended a wait of over two years, having last struck for her country to decide the gold-medal match at the 2024 Olympic Games – she had not played an international game since that 1-0 win over Brazil, having been on maternity leave.
Mallory Swanson came off the bench to score an 86th-minute equaliser as the United States fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Spain in the teams' second friendly in Philadelphia.
The 2023 World Cup winners saw Clara Pinedo work Phallon Tullis-Joyce after ghosting in behind, but the Manchester United goalkeeper was powerless to stop another Women's Super League star from putting Spain in front in the 27th minute.
A patient move resulted in Clara Serrajordi sliding a pass across the face of goal, and with Pinedo stepping over it, Alexia Putellas had the simplest of finishes at the far post.
Only five minutes later, the London City Lionesses playmaker had an assist to go with her goal as she intercepted Tullis-Joyce's miscued clearance and offloaded to Salma Paralluelo, whose finish cracked off the angle of post and crossbar on its way in.
Emma Hayes' hosts were given a lifeline in the 49th minute, though, as Spain's half-time substitute Ona Batlle backed off Ashley Sanchez, who curled into the far corner.
Misa Rodriguez made one big one-v-one save to thwart Swanson, but there was no denying the Chicago Stars forward late on. Three substitutes were involved in the move as Michelle Cooper kept Kate Del Fava's long ball forward alive and fed Swanson, who drilled an inch-perfect finish into the bottom-left corner.
And only a wondersave from Misa denied the USA a late winner, as she got down to her left to stop Lily Yohannes' attempt from curling inside the far post.
Game of two halves for Hayes
After the game, Hayes praised her players for showing a "fearless" approach in the second half and said that having "nothing to lose" had benefited them.
And the underlying stats certainly back that point up. In the opening 45 minutes, Spain had seven shots to the USA's six but dominated the expected goals battle, racking up 1.69 xG to 0.23.
After the interval, both teams had eight attempts apiece, but the USA racked up 0.53 xG to Spain's 0.32, not allowing the visitors a single shot on target.
Only three days earlier, the USA had never truly looked like rallying from another 2-0 deficit against the same opponents. Having conceded twice in the opening 14 minutes on that occasion, it was the earliest they had gone 2-0 down since March 2017 against France, and the scoreline held until full-time.
For Swanson, her goal ended a wait of over two years, having last struck for her country to decide the gold-medal match at the 2024 Olympic Games – she had not played an international game since that 1-0 win over Brazil, having been on maternity leave.
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