Here's why England and Spain made the USWNT look so bad, and how the USWNT can respond

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There is a loud audible sound here.

Women's soccer has a week and a half to go.

It began at the beginning of last week with the shocking revelations of abuse and mismanagement within the NWSL. It had a spark of joy from the atmosphere at Wembley as the US faced England. The USWNT lost to England and Spain in their last two games in Europe.

The USWNT's performance was simply put: poopy sloppy, because it came against a Spain team that was missing 15 key players due to a fight with their federation. The last time the U.S. women lost back-to-back games was in 2001. Are you talking then? It is quite depressing.

The US has dominated women's soccer over the last few decades. The USWNT has lost back-to-back matches three times in the last 20 years. While millions of girls in the U.S. had the chance to play, the global soccer community did not care much about women's soccer.

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The U.S. team's future would be complicated if the world catches on to how great women's soccer is. The European leagues and clubs are investing in women and their teams, which is long-awaited. We always knew that the garden would bloom.

When thoughtful investment was put into the women's professional game, these players were able to play year round, and teams started to win, and people started to show up to games, and sponsors started to come on board. The former player or woman is not raising their hand. More people started to watch, ratings started to rise, more sponsors wanted to get involved, and more girls started to play and get better, and then FIFA thought, "Well, why haven't we supported women all this time?" The last part is just a joke.

The Spanish B-team, missing 15 of its top players, didn't have a problem demolishing the World Cup Champs. National teams for women's football in Europe have become a real challenge for the United States. They are going to get better. My kids say that the facts are true.

We can point to a number of reasons for the U.S. team's poor performance against England and Spain.

We are beginning to see how good Europe has become. I thought it would take a bit more time, but I'm happy we're here. European teams have improved and are not afraid of the US. Wait until Brazil and South America catch on and watch when it does.

Because of that, the U.S. team is going to look at the performance and see if it's better. The thing stood out to me.

I saw a stat that blew my mind, that England completed 616 passes compared to the USWNT's 260, as the USWNT had its lowest possession since 2016 against England.

The USWNT did not complete a through-ball for the third game in a row. I double- checked that one.

The U.S. team's completion rate in the final third against Spain was its lowest of the season.

The U.S. did not have many shots on goal. They didn't create chances, looked sluggish, and played without joy, and that's concerning to me. I want to say it. I remembered the Olympics. The USWNT had its first opening half without a shot on target since it lost to Canada in the Olympics semifinals last year.

The Women's World Cup is nine months away and I'm not worried. The USWNT's play is not up to par. I don't think the U.S. coach has time to look at many more players because he needs to settle on a lineup.

A change in formation would give Andi Sullivan some assistance defensively. The U.S. could use a double pivot to build out its offense and offer some defensive cover. It could be that the center back is playing in a pinched-in diamond or box. You still have flank space for the outside backs to get forward, but more support centrally to build out of possession and control against better teams The Spanish team deployed a five-back with wing-backs against the Americans.

Try to change formations now. This team has it in them to be the best in the world and now is the time to get that swagger back. It's not enough to say that the U.S. didn't have players. It's not enough to say the US was flat.

The two games exposed the need to change formation and mentality. Maybe one day the team will be thankful for the two games they have played in Europe. A good smackdown is the fastest way to get up.