Patri Guijarro highlights Spain’s pressing shortcomings despite victory

“That didn’t help us,” said Patri Guijarro, who felt Spain’s pressing had not served her team well enough against the United States. The FC Barcelona midfielder was pleased with her goal from outside the box, which put Spain ahead in the 3rd minute. But she also felt the side could have pressed more to suffer less against the Olympic champions, despite winning 0-2.

The difficulties included the high press, one of La Roja’s defining features, which did not work well at certain stages. Patri Guijarro thus identified an area for improvement beyond the result.

Eva Navarro, scorer of the second goal in the 14th minute, said she had been playing at full-back this season, despite spending her whole career as a winger: “It’s true that this season I’ve been playing at full-back. But, in the end, I’ve been a winger all my life.”