The USWNT-Spain series coming to Chester is as big for the players as it is for the women’s soccer world

While Cavan Sullivan continues to lead the headlines in American soccer, he’s about to have some company.

The U.S. women’s team’s upcoming two-game series with Spain is the program’s most anticipated homestand since they came home from Paris in 2024 with Olympic gold. And it isn’t just a big deal for outsiders relishing the first U.S.-Spain matchup since 2022, a year before La Roja won the World Cup.

The players are just as excited.

“The kind of games anyone would love to play,” veteran Spanish centerback Irene Paredes said. “Plus, there’s everything that comes with the sport there [in the U.S.]: the history, the fact that they’ve been global leaders for so many years, and have such an impressive track record.”

Paredes has been a key player in Spain’s growth of the women’s game, with 117 caps dating back to 2011. Her country didn’t win an international title until 2023 in Australia. Since then, it has won two UEFA Nations League titles and been a runner-up in a European Championship.

Now the world snaps to attention when Spain’s name comes up, as a team or with its long list of individual stars. Many of them will be part of this series: Paredes, fellow defender Ona Batlle, midfielder Patri Guijarro, and forwards Alexia Putellas and Salma Paralluelo.

“The two games are friendlies, but we’re approaching them as if the World Cup starts here,” veteran Spanish centerback Irene Paredes said this week. “We know it will be very difficult: they’re playing at home, and they draw huge crowds and get a lot of attention. We want to experience that atmosphere … I don’t think there are many better tests than this.”

» READ MORE: Sam Coffey joins the USWNT’s injury list ahead of the showdown with Spain

But while the U.S. isn’t the World Cup champion anymore, it is still a champion at getting the spotlight. Paredes knows that plenty well, and thus what it means to be on these shores for just the second time. The first was in 2020, when the Americans edged it 1-0 in North Jersey just before the COVID-19 pandemic started.

“We used to look up to them from several rungs below,” Paredes said. “They were a benchmark — we wanted to emulate them in terms of our style of play, how they drew crowds, and the conditions they played in. Right now, we’re on equal footing. And that’s precisely why we want to face them to go up against them on the field and compete without feeling like we’re lacking anything compared to them.”

That last part should be the least of Spain’s worries. The team has a brilliant playing style, and it extends beyond the senior squad. The under-20 team just won its second World Cup in three editions, and the under-19 team are five-time reigning European champions.

The program also does well at progressing its youth prospects to the top level. Paralluelo is one of the best examples: She won the under-17 World Cup in 2018, the under-20 title in 2022, and the biggest one of all in 2023, topped off with the young player of the tournament award.

» READ MORE: The USWNT wins fans with its stars, but keeps winning games with its depth

Now the 22-year-old is club teammates with one of the U.S. team’s top young talents, 19-year-old midfielder Lily Yohannes.

They’ve discussed facing off — without all the trash talk that comes with it.

“Definitely, it does come up — obviously when we heard that the game was announced, and as it got closer to going into camp, just kind of joking about it,” Yohannes said. “Mentioning it, but not talking too much about it. I think we’re both really excited for the game.”

Saturday’s series opener in Washington (2:30 p.m., TBS, Telemundo 62) will be a homecoming for her. She grew up in Springfield, Va., moving to Amsterdam with her family at age 10. That’s how she got into soccer, scouted by and eventually turning pro with the Dutch city’s famed club, Ajax.

After two seasons there, France’s OL Lyonnes brought her to the most decorated club in European women’s soccer. Paralluelo joined this summer from Spain’s Barcelona, the most dominant club of the last few years.

» READ MORE: Are USWNT stars better off in the NWSL or in Europe?

When Yohannes was asked how many friends and family she’ll have in attendance, she had to think for a moment. It will be at least 60, she figured, and a U.S. Soccer staffer added it will probably be a lot more.

Centerback Kennedy Wesley, who sat next to Yohannes at the podium, interjected: “That is awesome. Wow.”

Wesley, a California native, must wait until the U.S. returns to the West Coast for her big gathering. And Philadelphia will have to wait to give anyone a homecoming, with no area products on the radar.

But Subaru Park is nearly sold out for Tuesday, the second game of the series (7 p.m., TNT, Universo). They want to see Yohannes, Trinity Rodman, Sophia Wilson, and Alyssa Thompson just like the rest of the nation does.

“Spain vs. the U.S., two amazing sides, and I think it should be a really great match,” Yohannes said. “I think the anticipation is definitely there, and excitement. And as players, as fans, I think you feel that, and it’s just really exciting.”