Watching Spain vs. Netherlands with Amy Rodriguez (2024)

This is‘Watching With…’. Our soccer staff sits down with past players, coaches, fans and other people involved in soccer to watch and discuss aWomen’s World Cupmatch together.

Amy Rodriguez is multitasking, because that’s what head coaches must do. Inside a packed restaurant 1.4 miles away from the home of the reborn Utah Royals FC, Rodriguez is handling introductions, lineup formation analysis and deciding which pizza to order for herself. It’s just past 7 p.m. Thursday night in suburban Salt Lake City and there are no open tables inside Slackwater Pizzeria. On a flat-screen TV behind the bar is the World Cup quarterfinal matchup between Spain and the Netherlands.

Rodriguez, hired in April to be the new head coach of the Royals upon their return to NWSL in 2024, introduced this reporter to some friends, allowing the already-crammed four-top table to balloon to seven. There are two Olympic champions at this table: Rodriguez, a World Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist and staple of women’s soccer in America for the last two decades.

• Follow live coverage of Australia vs England at the Women’s World Cup today

Across from her is friend and five-time Olympic speedskating gold medalist Bonnie Blair, one of the most decorated American athletes in Olympic history. She’s in town with her daughter and other speedskaters to train at the Utah Olympic Oval as they prepare for the upcoming speedskating season. After Rodriguez gets through introductions, she asks to see my phone because she wants to double-check the Spain and Netherlands lineups just minutes after kickoff.

This summer’s tournament has been a blessing for the first-time head coach. The Royals, alongside fellow NWSL expansion side Bay FC, are tasked with building a roster from scratch. Along with the league’s expansion draft and college draft, there are five designated international spots to fill. Rodriguez initially planned to attend the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in person, but ultimately decided to watch from afar to allow necessary time to rewatch matches. Rather than bouncing around two countries on planes, she has been scouting from the comfort of her TV or laptop.

It’s a slightly different role than where she was earlier in the year as an assistant coach at her alma mater, USC.

“I took on this role three months ago, but if you think about it: three months ago I was diving deep into the 16 and 17 age group recruiting for college. These players were not on my radar,” she said. “My main priority for this World Cup was talent identification. I go back and watch every single game. I have notes on almost every single player up to this point.”

A double-post from Spain’s Alba Redondo in the 17th minute leaves Rodriguez stunned with both hands on her head. This is the first of many times she’ll do this as the quarterfinal unfolds. Spain, she predicted early, would win if it could dominate possession of the ball and keep Netherlands’ star midfielder Jill Roord out of the flow of the match.

Despite the match eventually being deadlocked 0-0 at halftime, that prediction is played out in the first-half disparity of Spain’s 61 percent possession and 183 completed passes compared to just 94 for the Netherlands.

When the pizzas arrive at the table, Rodriguez defends her order. At first blush, it looks to be a plain cheese pizza. “This is indicative of my coaching style,” she jokes. “Safe on top, but substance beneath the surface.” There are pepperonis in fact baked below the top layer of cheese. When she’s asked later on to identify what her style of play will be, Rodriguez says: “You can’t just go at forming a team with one mindset.”

It’s also a question that will have a more definitive answer in a few months, once the expansion draft, collegiate draft and international slots are rounding out the Royals’ roster. If she is intrigued by a certain player, she says she wants to watch them anywhere from seven to 10 times in an attempt to know their intricacies.

“I have a rankings list of every player at this tournament that I would want to be on the Royals,” she said. “Can I share that with you? No.”

Thirty seconds into the second half, Spain’s Esther González nearly curls a right-footed shot into the far corner. Rodriguez nearly jumps out of her seat. That, she claps her hands together, is how you start a half. This is so much better from Spain than the 4-0 drubbing against Japan in the group stage.

“They have quality everywhere,” she says. “The Netherlands’ scout was clearly to counterattack, but it’s not working when you’re parked so deep.”

The final decision after the review is… NO PENALTY 🤯 pic.twitter.com/aizUw0cMMX

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 11, 2023

That tactic nearly pays off in the 62nd minute when Netherlands forward Lineth Beerensteyn is fouled in the box by Irene Paredes. The former U.S. forward isn’t buying it. Rodriguez immediately says that’s not a penalty. And she’s right. After VAR check, it’s ruled to not be a foul.

“Thank you!” Rodriguez says.

The penalty spot is the topic again in the 80th minute, when Stefanie van der Gragt is called for a penalty after a cross hits her hand in the box. Spain’s Mariona Caldentey kisses her attempt off the left post and into the net to give Spain the lead, but the Netherlands’ gameplan is gaining steam. Spain’s lack of team speed as the tournament goes on, Rodriguez says, will be a problem against teams that want to possess more.

When an astonishing 12 minutes of added time are awarded, Rodriguez smacks the table: “I’ve never seen that!” Just a minute in, Van der Gragt makes up for the penalty conceded by blasting the equalizer into the far side of the net after a Spain lapse in defending.

DUTCH DELIGHT 🇳🇱

NETHERLANDS HAS ITS EQUALIZER THANKS TO STEFANIE VAN DER GRAGT! pic.twitter.com/bIwFvxQr7p

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 11, 2023

Once the second half ends, Blair and the other speedskaters leave. In order to get a closer view of extra time we move to the bar. There we talk about how the last iteration of the Utah Royals, for which Rodriguez played in 2018 and 2019, featured serious star power. In addition to Rodriguez, the Royals had national team stars like Becky Saurebrunn, Christen Press and Kelley O’Hara. As she’s constructing this roster, does she feel pressure to bring that sort of quality back to Utah?

There is a fine balance. Superstar-laden clubs don’t always hoist trophies.

“I coach similar to how I played,” she says. “That’s leaning on hard work and helpfulness. I have an intensity about me, but it comes with loving the heck out of my players. I’m simplistic, organized, and diligent, but with an unbelievable belief in my players to allow them to play fearlessly and freely.”

Late in the second half of extra time, a Spanish youngster shows the world what it’s like to play fearlessly and free. Nineteen-year-old Salma Paralluelo runs away from two defenders, puts Aniek Nouwen on skates and fires a left-footed shot to the far post that pings off the woodwork and in.

WHAT A WAY TO SCORE YOUR FIRST FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP GOAL, SALMA PARALLUELO 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/1DI0Vtszxi

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 11, 2023

“Oh my god,” Rodriguez said. “That’s just way too much space to give her.”

With their 2-1 win over the Netherlands, Spain advances to the semifinal round where they will face Sweden, the team that eliminated the U.S. in the round of 16. The next week will continue to be filled with rewatching matches over and over for Rodriguez and her staff at the Royals. They’re inching toward the roster build they’re so eager to start.

“The motto or creed of this club is ‘empowering women,’” she says. “That is something really cool for me to do in this role, where I was once a player, and all I want to do is see the women’s game grow, see the NWSL succeed and empower my players to keep things moving in the right direction.”

The “Watching with”series is part of a partnership with Michelob ULTRA.

The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

Sign up for the Full Time newsletterto get the biggest World Cup storylines delivered directly to your inbox daily.

(Photos: Getty; Brad Smith/ISI Photos, Guo Lei/Xinhua News Agency; Design: John Bradford)

Christopher Kamrani is a college football enterprise writer for The Athletic. He previously worked at The Salt Lake Tribune as a sports features writer and also served as the Olympics reporter. Follow Christopher on Twitter @chriskamrani