Medal table | Olympic schedule | How to watch | Olympic News
PARIS – The U.S. women’s national soccer team easily secured the 2024 Olympic title here at the Parc des Princes on Saturday, completing an almost instant turnaround with a gold medal under new coach Emma Hayes.
The USWNT won its third straight knockout game 1-0, this time against Brazil and this time led by a third, different, dynamic attacker.
After a tough first half, Mallory Swanson left the Brazilian defense behind and crowned her personal comeback from a serious knee injury with the first and only goal of the game.
This was, in many ways, an unfair depiction of the 90 minutes. But it was a perfect representation of the firepower that propelled the USA through this Olympic tournament and back to the top of the women’s game.
This was the USWNT’s first Olympic final in 12 years, and perhaps the first it hadn’t expected. The Americans’ penalty shootout loss to Sweden in Rio 2016 had been a fluke. But their laborious 2021 semifinal against Canada, which ended in a 1-0 loss, was the beginning of a downward spiral that culminated last summer. A loss to Sweden in the round of 16 of the Women’s World Cup was the USWNT’s earliest ever exit. It felt at the time like proof that women’s soccer’s first superpower had fallen from the sport’s pinnacle.
Then came Hayes. US Soccer wooed the charming but demanding Brit with the highest salary ever paid to a women’s soccer coach. Hayes worked “in the background” for months while she completed her 12th and final season with English club Chelsea, then arrived in late May to begin the USWNT’s transformation.
She repeatedly stressed that her reconstruction would not happen overnight.
“It’s a process,” Hayes said after a week in office. “And we have to go step by step.”
But when they arrived in France, they immediately took the plunge.
They marched through a group that also included Germany and Australia. Their new three forwards – Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Swanson – ripped their opponents to pieces. Rodman broke open a dismal quarterfinal with a dream goal. Smith did the same three days later in a semifinal full of “suffering” against Germany. The USWNT, it seemed, had regained its collective pride.
Of course, soccer games aren’t won by boasting alone. The first half of the final was a stark reminder of that. The U.S. midfield, which featured Korbin Albert in place of Rose Lavelle, was largely absent. For 45 minutes, traffic flowed primarily in one direction – toward Brazil.
Ludmila, Brazil’s dangerous left winger, sneaked behind the US defense after two minutes and fired the first warning shot. She couldn’t quite get the ball around US goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. But it was a sign of things to come.
Less than 15 minutes later, Ludmila beat Naeher and turned around to start an acrobatic celebration. But on the other side of the field, an assistant referee’s flag was up; Ludmila was a quarter step offside.
Brazil put pressure on the USA in a different way than Japan and Germany did. The Americans seemed unprepared for the pace of the game. Japan had the technical ability to keep up with the USA; Germany had the physical presence; Brazil had both and dominated the game.
Right winger Gabi Portilho sent in several dangerous crosses in front of goal. The USA left the Brazilians unmarked at the back post. Brazil scored over 1.2 expected goals (a statistic that measures the quality and quantity of shots) in the first half, compared to just 0.2 for the USWNT. It seemed as though a breakthrough was imminent.
Instead, it happened at the other end, about 12 minutes after halftime. Albert played a through ball that could have been intended for either Swanson or Smith. Smith was offside but ran the ball to Swanson, who was not offside. Swanson galloped towards goal and calmly finished despite being at nearly full speed.
It was the USWNT’s 12th goal of the tournament and the 10th scored by either Rodman, Swanson or Smith, who began each game as an increasingly fearsome attacking trident.
They and a determined defense that did not allow a single goal in 330 minutes of the knockout round led the USA to its fifth Olympic title in eight attempts.
