Following a dominant showing in the group matches, the Round of 16 would see the USA advance as they won 2-1 against Spain. Ahead of the match it seemed like the identities of the teams would be a big factor as perhaps Spain would put on a beautiful display of possession soccer and the US would counter with their own ideas about keeping the ball, but that narrative went out the door almost immediately.
Rather than play their brand of possession soccer, if they could even do such a thing against the US, Spain played fearlessly and physically - they pressed at key times, they kicked Alex Morgan, they fouled, and clogged the midfield.