Spain unbeaten in 19 after blanking Olympic champion Canada at Arnold Clark Cup

While Canada leaves the Arnold Clark Cup on the back of a 1-0 loss to an impressive Spain side, head coach Bev Priestman saw plenty of positives for the Olympic champions.

Despite having half of her roster in pre-season mode back home with their National Women's Soccer League teams and missing talismanic captain Christine Sinclair and experienced forward Adriana Leon, the sixth-ranked Canadian women tied No. 8 England 1-1 and beat No. 3 Germany 1-0 before running into a stylish Spanish side that played well above its No. 9 ranking.

"I think we've taken a step forward," Priestman said after Wednesday's match at a near-empty Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. "I feel like we found ways to get [star fullback] Ashley Lawrence higher [up the pitch]. We've got more combinations and more trusted players. I think we've widened the depth — I've tested more players.

"I said coming into this we'd come away with more European experience. We've done that. I'm so glad we attended this tournament. I think we've got some massive learnings. And there are some players that really had to step up."

Spain came as advertised, classy and confident, aggressive on defence and comfortable on the ball in attack.

Star midfielder Alexia Putellas, winner of the Ballon d'Or, Best FIFA Women's player and UEFA player of the year, pulled the strings for Spain as it extended its unbeaten streak to 19 games (17-0-2) since a 1-0 loss to the U.S. at the SheBelieves Cup in March 2020.

While Spain had more of the ball early on, Canada seemed up to the task and created several chances of its own to start.

But Spain went ahead in the 21st minute after Patri Guijarro stole the ball off Lawrence in midfield. Five passes later it was in the back of the net with a low shot from an unmarked Putellas, who made a stealthy run into the middle of the penalty box and beat Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.

The 28-year-old Barcelona star almost scored a second in the 63rd minute, but her header off a corner hit the woodwork.

The game grew scrappier in the second half as substitutions were made. Canada came on late but was unable to break through, with two Canadian attackers unable to get to a dangerous Lawrence cross that flashed through the Spanish penalty box in the dying seconds.

As in the two previous matches, Priestman liked parts of the performance.

"For us it's been three games of half-a-game, to be honest with you, across this tournament," she said. "I can only walk away from this game very happy with the second half and a poor first half. But that's credit to Spain."

Spain finished with 60 per cent possession and outshot Canada 14-7 although the Canadians had a 3-1 edge in shots on target.

The defeat was only the fourth for Canada under Priestman, whose record is 10-4-6 including two shootout wins at the Tokyo Olympics. The other losses were to the U.S., Brazil and Mexico.