Jill Ellis’ side look to continue their perfect Women’s World Cup form and qualify for the quarter-finals
The USWNT take on Spain in their first knockout game at the Women’s World Cup after a record-breaking group stage.
Jill Ellis’ side qualified with maximum points and scored 18 goals – the most by any side in the tournament’s history – as they cruised through to the last 16.
Spain, meanwhile, made it through Group B with four points to finish in second place behind Germany, but will now have to beat the competition favourites to continue their campaign.
| Game | Spain women vs USWNT |
| Date | Monday, June 24 |
| Time | 5:00pm BST / 10:00am ET |
| Stream (US) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Telemundo, FOX Sports 1, NBCSN | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be broadcast on BBC Two and it can be streamed live online using BBC Sport Live and BBC Sport iPlayer
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| BBC Two | BBC Sport Live, BBC Sport iPlayer |
| Position | Spain squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Gallardo, Panos, Quinones |
| Defenders | Paredes, Corredera, Ouahabi, Andres, Torrejon, Jimenez, Leon, Pereira |
| Midfielders | Sampedro, Bonmati, Guijarro, Torrecilla, Putellas, Losada, Meseguer |
| Forwards | Hermoso, Falcon, L. Garcia, N. Garcia, Caldentey |
Spain have a fully fit squad to choose from and will be fresh for the last-16 tie, having played their last group game a week ago.
Spain starting XI: Panos, Corredera, Paredes, Leon, Ouahabi, Torrecilla, Guijarro, Losada, Hermoso, Putellas, L. Garcia
Alex Morgan is fit despite being substituted at half-time against Sweden following a heavy tackle that left her limping. Head coach Jill Ellis confirmed it was just a precaution to protect the tournament’s joint top scorer.
“It was just more ‘let’s be smart about this,’” Ellis said of her decision to take Morgan off. “It’s a zero-risk game in terms of having players available for the next game.”
USWNT starting XI: Naeher; O’Hara, Dahlkemper, Sauerbrunn, Dunn; Lavelle, Ertz, Mewis; Heath, Morgan, Rapinoe
The USWNT are unsurprisingly strong 2/5 favourites to advance to the quarter-finals. Spain can be backed at at 8/1 to cause an upset, while the draw is available at 16/5.
Click here to see all of bet 365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more .
The United States will take heart from the fact they beat Spain back in January when the two sides met for the first time in history, the USWNT securing a 1-0 win in Alicante thanks to a second-half Christen Press strike.
With that result in their mind, and the near-faultless performances they put in during the group stage, Ellis’ team will certainly not be short of confidence going into this must-win encounter.
They notched three clean sheets as well as the 18 goals they scored over three games, having kicked-off their campaign with a brutal 13-0 thrashing of Thailand, and have five players who have netted twice or more.
But Ellis has turned her attention firmly to Monday’s encounter after rounding off the first stage of the competition on Thursday, and thinks her side’s previous clash with Spain will stand them in good stead.
“It was actually purposeful why we wanted to play them early in the year,” Ellis said after her team completed a 2-0 victory over Sweden. “It was great to get them on the schedule and experience that in their home country.”
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And forward Carli Lloyd, who has three Women’s World Cup goals, is not taking their opposition lightly.
“We know they are good on the ball,” Lloyd said. “We know they are technical.”
Spain finished off their group matches with a slightly underwhelming 0-0 draw against China, failing to score despite enjoying 63 per cent possession and 24 shots on goal.
That result came after a 1-0 defeat to Germany, meaning the Spanish have not won a game since their opening fixture against South Africa.
“At least we’ve shown what Spain can do on the pitch,” head coach Jorge Vilda said following the Germany defeat. “We were playing good football, but mistakes cost us dearly.
“We were able to dominate them in certain parts of the match. Obviously we weren’t able to put the cherry on top of the cake, but we were able to bring that style of play.”