Medal table | Olympic schedule | How to watch | Olympic news
PARIS — The US women’s national soccer team worked its way to a 2024 Olympic title on Saturday at the Parc des Princes. Under new coach Emma Hayes, there was an almost immediate turnaround with a gold medal.
The U.S. national team won its third consecutive knockout match, 1-0, this time against Brazil and this time led by a third different dynamic forward.
After a difficult first half, Mallory Swanson quickly broke free from the Brazilian defence to score her first and only goal of the game after suffering a serious knee injury.
It was, in many ways, an unfair reflection of the 90 minutes. But it was a perfect representation of the firepower that propelled the US through this Olympic tournament and back to the top of women’s soccer.
This was the USWNT’s first Olympic final in 12 years, and perhaps the first they would not reach. The Americans’ shootout loss to Sweden in Rio 2016 was a fluke. But their 2021 semifinal against Canada, which ended in a 1-0 defeat, began a decline that spiraled downward 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 like proof at the time that women’s soccer’s first superpower had fallen from the sport’s mountaintop.
Then came Hayes. US Soccer lured the charming but demanding Briton 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, arriving in late May to transform the USWNT.
She repeatedly stressed that reconstruction would not happen overnight.
“It’s a process,” Hayes said after a week on the track. “And we have to take it one step at a time.”
But when they arrived in France, they immediately took the plunge.
They steamrolled through a group with Germany and Australia. Their new front three — Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Swanson — tore opponents to shreds. Rodman broke open a dismal quarterfinal with a wonder goal. Smith did the same three days later in a semifinal of “suffering” against Germany. The USWNT seemed to have regained its collective bravado.
Of course, bravado alone doesn’t win football matches. The first half of the final was a harsh memory. The American midfield, with Korbin Albert replacing Rose Lavelle, was largely absent. Traffic flowed mostly in one direction for 45 minutes — Brazil’s way.
Ludmila, Brazil’s menacing left winger, crept behind the American defense two minutes later and fired the first warning shot. She couldn’t quite get it around American keeper Alyssa Naeher. But it was a sign of things to come.
Less than 15 minutes later, Ludmila beat Naeher and pulled away, preparing an acrobatic celebration. But on the other side of the field, an assistant referee’s flag was hanging; Ludmila had been a quarter of a turn offside.
Brazil put pressure on the US, unlike Japan and Germany. The Americans seemed unprepared for the pace of the game. Japan had the technical ability to match the US; Germany had the physical presence; Brazil had both and dominated the game.
Right winger Gabi Portilho whipped in a series of dangerous crosses. The US left the Brazilians unmarked at the far post. Brazil produced more than 1.2 Expected Goals (a statistic that measures the quality and quantity of shots) in the first half, compared to 0.2 for the USWNT. A breakthrough seemed imminent.
Instead, it came at the other end, some 12 minutes into the second half. Korbin Albert played a through ball that could have been intended for either Swanson or Smith. Smith was offside; but she let the ball pass to Swanson, who was offside. Swanson galloped toward goal and finished calmly, even at almost full speed.
It was the U.S. national team’s 12th goal of the tournament, and the 10th was scored by Rodman, Swanson or Smith, who started each game as an increasingly fearsome attacking trident.
Together with a determined defense that didn’t concede a single goal in 330 knockout minutes, they led the US to its fifth Olympic title in eight tries.
