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The Eagles wrap up the first half of the World Rugby Nations Cup campaign against a familiar foe in Raleigh on Saturday. Spain were winners a year ago in nearby Charlotte, but the USA had won all five of their meetings prior to that occasion. Both teams are unbeaten thus far, with Los Leones scrapping to a draw with Canada before beating Tonga in Edmonton last week.
| FORM GUIDE |
Current World Ranking: 14 (69.40 points)
2026-07-11 – USA 31, Zimbabwe 15 (Charlotte)
2026-07-04 – USA 30, Portugal 29 (Denver)
2025-11-15 – Romania 26, USA 26 (Bucharest)
2025-11-08 – Georgia 43, USA 30 (Batumi)
2025-11-01 – Scotland 85, USA 0 (Edinburgh)
Current World Ranking: 16 (67.66 points)
2026-07-11 – Tonga 19, Spain 32 (Edmonton)
2026-07-04 – Canada 42, Spain 42 (Edmonton)
2026-03-15 – Spain 29, Romania 23 (Madrid)
2026-03-08 – Portugal 26, Spain 7 (Lisbon)
2026-02-21 – Georgia 42, Spain 30 (Tbilisi)
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 2 | Kapeli Pifeleti | Alex Maughan |
| 5 | Brandon Harvey | Makeen Alikhan |
| 7 | Paddy Ryan | Lance Williams |
| 13 | Julian Roberts | Tavite Lopeti |
| 14 | Mark O’Keeffe | Conner Mooneyham |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Luca Tabarot | Thierry Futeu |
| 8 | Ekain Imaz | Imanol Urraza |
| 14 | Gauthier Minguillón | Jaime Manteca |
| NOTES |
- Kapeli Pifeleti returns from injury to start at hooker for the Eagles, but Conner Mooneyham is ruled out… Mark O’Keeffe steps in on the right wing
- there are first test starts for Brandon Harvey and Julian Roberts… Harvey partners with Chicago Hounds clubmate Nathan Den Hoedt in the second row, with skipper Jason Damm switching to the back of the scrum… Roberts is capable of playing every position in the backline and enjoyed a breakthrough campaign with Anthem
- uncapped Hounds prop Charlie Abel is named among the reserves… the 34-year-old, born in Australia, is a surprise inclusion having not been part of any Eagles training squads to date… Abel was on the books for the Waratahs and Rebels of Super Rugby before making the move to the US, and has also played for Auckland in New Zealand’s NPC
- Pablo Bouza has made minimal changes to his Leones lineup, recalling France-based trio Luca Tabarot, Ekain Imaz, and Gauthier Minguillón to the run-on side… Tabarot’s most recent start was against Georgia in the Rugby Europe Championship
| QUOTES |
Scott Lawrence (Head Coach)
“Each week presents us with a new growth opportunity as we build toward 2027. Spain is a very good side with an excellent kicking game, dangerous attacking players, and the ability to put pressure on you across the field. Our focus this week is on preparing well, improving the areas we know can be better, and earning the right to perform for 80 minutes. We look forward to another opportunity to represent the USA rugby community.”
| PREDICTION |
Another hot and humid evening is on the forecast, with a chance of showers. The Eagles had a rough start against Zimbabwe last week but came to life in the second half to claim victory. Spain meanwhile improved from the letdown against the Canadians to defeat Tonga in a neutral-venue clash. The two most recent matches between these two sides have been competitive, and this again should be very close. USA are slight favorites at home in Raleigh.
| TEAMS |
USA EAGLES
1 Jack Iscaro, 2 Kapeli Pifeleti, 3 Tonga Kofe, 4 Nathan Den Hoedt, 5 Brandon Harvey, 6 Cory Daniel, 7 Paddy Ryan, 8 Jason Damm (capt.), 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Chris Hilsenbeck, 11 Perry Mayo, 12 Dom Besag, 13 Julian Roberts, 14 Mark O’Keeffe, 15 Mitch Wilson
Replacements: 16 Shilo Klein, 17 Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 18 Charlie Abel, 19 Nafi Ma’afu, 20 Benjamín Bonasso, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 Luke Carty, 23 Tavite Lopeti
SPAIN
1 Luca Tabarot, 2 Álvaro García (capt.), 3 Hugo Pirlet, 4 Manex Ariceta, 5 Antonio Suárez, 6 Gabriel Vélez, 7 Ignacio Piñeiro, 8 Ekain Imaz, 9 Tani Bay, 10 Gonzalo López, 11 Alberto Carmona, 12 Álvar Gimeno, 13 Martiniano Cian, 14 Gauthier Minguillón, 15 JW Bell
Replacements: 16 Santiago Ovejero, 17 Thierry Futeu, 18 Jon Zabala, 19 Vicente Boronat, 20 Diego González, 21 Kerman Aurrekoetxea, 22 Iñaki Mateu, 23 Jaime Manteca
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, July 18
Venue: WakeMed Soccer Park, Raleigh
Kickoff: 19:30 local (16:30 Pacific, Sunday 01:30 Spain)
Weather Forecast: cloudy with showers, 82°F (28°C), wind S 5-8 mph (9-13 km/h)
Broadcasts: Paramount+ (USA), RugbyPass TV
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistants: Jérémy Rozier (France) & Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)
TMO: Dan Jones (England)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (6): USA 5, Spain 1
2025-07-12 – USA 20, Spain 31 (Charlotte)
2024-11-23 – Spain 23, USA 26 (Madrid)
2023-11-18 – Spain 12, USA 42 (La Vila)
2003-04-27 – USA 58, Spain 13 (Fort Lauderdale)
2003-04-12 – Spain 13, USA 62 (Madrid)
1998-04-12 – Spain 3, USA 49 (El Puerto de Santa María)
