The U.S. women’s national team will face its next major test ahead of World Cup qualifying, hosting top-ranked Spain in a pair of friendlies in October. The U.S. will square off against Spain in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 10 before heading north to Subaru Park in Chester, Pa., on Oct. 13.“We’ve desperately wanted to get Spain on our schedule,” coach Emma Hayes said in a news release, “but the difficulties of scheduling the top teams during the women’s international calendar are well known, so to be able to get these two games on the East Coast will be the perfect tests before we head into World Cup qualifying at the end of the year.”Spain qualified for the World Cup in June, breezing through European qualification, including a 4-0 romp over England and a 6-1 defeat of Iceland, freeing up their fall schedule to play the U.S. Spain directly qualified for the 2027 World Cup, while USWNT has to wait for Concacaf’s qualifying window later this year that will run through the end of November into early December.Spain will serve as another aggressive test for the U.S. under Hayes. A pair of friendlies against Brazil in Brazil during the June window helped get the players a test of the hostile — and incredible — atmospheres that await them next summer if they qualify.