It takes extensive back-scrolling on the U.S. women’s national team schedule to find the last time the squad lost consecutive matches.

Until Tuesday, the reigning World Champions hadn’t dropped back-to-back games since March 2017, when they lost 1-0 to England and then 3-0 to France in the group stage of the SheBelieves Cup.

That five-year-and-seven-month streak came to an end as the USWNT fell 2-0 to hosts Spain in a friendly match on Tuesday. The defeat came less than a week after the team lost to England 2-1 at Wembley Stadium.

It also came in the midst of the fallout from the Sally Yates report, which uncovered systemic abuse within the NWSL and has weighed heavily on the players in the days since its release.

Still, the loss was unexpected.

“We have a winning mentality, and when we don’t win, it hurts,” head coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “It hurts all of us. It is a tough moment for us as a team.”

The four-time World Cup champion USWNT has established a culture of winning over decades. Since those consecutive losses in 2017, the club had lost only four other times.

“We knew these were going to be two tough opponents, two tough games, “Andonovski said. “That’s why we came here, to learn more about us before the World Cup and to get prepared better for the World Cup.”

The World Cup is eight months away, and the USWNT will play plenty of matches between now and then, starting with two against Germany on Nov. 10 and 13 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla, and Harrison, N.J. The U.S. remains FIFA’s top-ranked team, while Germany is No. 2.

Andonovski will be tasked with finding the right players to take to Australia and New Zealand for the World Cup next summer. Against England and Spain, the squad was missing several key players who will certainly make the trip in June, most notably Alex Morgan (injury) and Mallory Pugh (family commitment).

“We have 15 players who aren’t available for selection because of injury,” Andonovski said on Monday prior to the Spain game. “From every line, we are missing very important players.”

Spain, meanwhile, was missing its entire first unit, after 15 players sent emails to the Spanish soccer federation on Sept. 23 asking not to be summoned to the team until concerns regarding their “health and well-being were addressed.” Those players later denied the federation’s portrayal that they had “resigned” from the team and expressed their frustration that the correspondence went public.

But the players who took the field for Spain on Tuesday made their presence felt in the 2-0 win.

“They were a better squad tonight,” Andonovski said.

Laia Codina, who plays for FC Barcelona, scored the first goal of the match off a corner kick at the 39-minute mark. The ball bounced around in front of the net, but the U.S. defense couldn’t clear it and Codina was able to finish from seven yards away. It was her senior national team debut.

Spain, who are missing 15 players, lead the USWNT 1-0 at the half. 😳 pic.twitter.com/7vhavFpsnN

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) October 11, 2022

Esther Gonzalez then put the game out of reach for the U.S. with a spectacular volley goal in the 72nd minute.

What a finish ‼️

Spain takes a 2-0 lead over the USWNT late in the 2nd half. pic.twitter.com/kpNfoa00sh

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) October 11, 2022

The USWNT had limited opportunities, taking 10 shots, only two of which were on target.

Andonovski shuffled his lineup drastically in the second half, starting by subbing in Ashley Hatch for Trinity Rodman at the break.

Rodman made her second start in a row after impressing in the game against England – though her goal was called back after a controversial VAR call determined Sophia Smith was offside in the build-up. Leading up to the friendly against Spain, Smith — who scored the lone goal for the U.S. against England — praised the young forward.

“I love playing with Trinity,” she said. “That last game was kind of the first time we’ve got a lot of minutes to play together. But I think you can already tell there’s something special there. I think we read each other pretty well.”

Andonovski later subbed in Crystal Dunn for Carson Pickett, who replaced Emily Fox on the roster Saturday after Fox left the game against England to be evaluated for a concussion. Sam Coffey, Sofia Huerta, Ashley Sanchez and 17-year-old Alyssa Thompson (in her second cap) also came in during the second half. None of those changes ignited the squad, though, and the U.S. never threatened.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer for Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

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Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.