Spain drops Claudia Pina and María León before USA friendly, calls up Lucía García

Withdrawals before the opener

Claudia Pina and María León will leave Spain's training camp in Washington D.C. and fly home on Saturday to begin their recovery, the Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF) confirmed on Friday. Pina, a forward at FC Barcelona, has 30 caps for Spain, while León, a central defender at London City Lionesses, has 62. Neither of them, nor captain Irene Paredes, took part in Friday's final training session at Audi Field, the venue for the first match against the United States.

A replacement from Monterrey

Sonia Bermúdez has called up Lucía García, a forward at Rayadas de Monterrey, who will travel from Mexico on Saturday to join the squad in Washington. The Basque forward has 58 caps for Spain and returns to a call-up a year after her last one. The federation said the call-up followed the withdrawals of León and Pina.

Two friendlies against the United States

The first match is on Saturday at Audi Field, home of the Washington Spirit, at 14:30 Eastern time (20:30 in Spain). The second is three days later at the Philadelphia Union stadium in Chester, kicking off at 19:00 local time. Spain last met the United States on 11 October 2022 at El Sadar, winning 2-0 with goals from Laia Codina and Esther González, their first win over the Americans after four meetings.

Reigning champions, new standing

Spain arrive in Washington as reigning World Cup champions and ranked No. 1 in the world, a long way from 2019. At the 2019 Women's World Cup in Reims, the United States beat Spain 2-1 in the round of 16, with Megan Rapinoe scoring both penalties and Jennifer Hermoso equalising in between. Spain were then 13th in the FIFA rankings. Bermúdez described the rise in the squad's own terms during the press conference at Audi Field.

I think we've evolved a great deal, both at the club level and within the regional associations.

The coach also pointed to the youth system. Spain lost to England on penalties in the final of the 2025 European Championship, and their youth squad beat North Korea 4-3 on penalties at last month's U-20 World Cup in Poland. Spain are targeting a World Cup title defence in Brazil in 2027.

What the friendlies are for

Bermúdez framed the two matches as a test of the squad's options against a top opponent and a likely knockout-round rival next summer.

It gives us the chance to try out different ways of playing and different formations.

Irene Paredes said the match had been anticipated and that the team intends to compete with the Americans on equal terms.

Luckily, the competitive situation has changed a lot compared with years ago. It is one of the most anticipated matches of the moment, and we want to play on equal terms.