Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and ahead Mallory Swanson hug after successful within the girls’s soccer gold medal match through the 2024 Paris Olympic Summer season Video games (Photograph Credit score: Michael Madrid | USA TODAY Sports activities)
The U.S. girls’s nationwide group arrived in Paris with its eyes on a gold medal and after six grueling video games in 16 days, the younger American group walked away with simply that.
The Olympic champion USWNT emerged victorious on Saturday, leaving Marta and a proficient Brazilian aspect with silver as soon as once more. It was ahead Mallory Swanson, in her one hundredth cap for the USWNT, who sealed the 1-0 win for the People. The 26-year-old striker discovered the again of the online 57 minutes into the frenetic finale on the Parc des Princes in Paris, her purpose in the end standing as the sport winner.
The shutout marks simply the second time an opponent was held scoreless in a gold medal match—the primary coming in 2008 when the U.S. final confronted Brazil within the closing sport of an Olympic event. The 2 groups additionally confronted off for gold in 2004 in Athens, with Crew USA successful there as effectively. The third assembly between the 2 sides for Olympic gold had the identical end result, however the victory didn’t come simply because the Brazilian aspect arguably gave the USWNT its hardest take a look at of the Paris Video games by far.
Brazil got here out firing within the early minutes of the match, hungry to strike first. The USWNT escaped the large stress from As Canarinhas’ frontline off a implausible effort from goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher regardless of a discombobulated protection that struggled to maintain up with the frenetic tempo of play.
Although Brazil continued to regulate possession for almost all of the match, Crew USA reasserted itself within the second half and located its footing once more. Lastly capable of create just a few of its personal alternatives on offense, it took an aggressive effort by the USWNT to seek out the again of the online. All that was wanted was one purpose, and it was Swanson who finally got here by way of.
A cross from midfielder Korbin Albert, the 20-year-old who began instead of Rose Lavelle within the midfield, discovered Swanson and fellow ahead Sophia Smith (taking part in on her twenty fourth birthday!) with house to maneuver. With Smith offside, it was Swanson who struck when one-on-one with goalkeeper Lorena for her fourth purpose of this Olympic event. The gang erupted, giving the USWNT the arrogance it wanted to fend off a relentless Brazil for the rest of the match even because the South American aspect discovered a second wind in stoppage time. Brazil made one closing push for gold, with Naeher once more coming in clutch to maintain the USWNT’s slim lead in tact.
The victory marks the USWNT’s first Olympic gold medal in additional than a decade—the final coming in London in 2012—and fifth total. Regardless of rating because the winningest group in Olympic historical past, the final two Video games had confirmed difficult for the USWNT. After falling within the quarterfinals in Rio after which taking bronze in Tokyo, nothing was assured in Paris.
The USWNT’s gold got here on the again of three consecutive one-goal wins in France—the American’s quarter and semifinal matches each extending into further time—as they managed to eke out shutout wins in every spherical of the knockout stage.
It was a group effort for Crew USA all through your entire event. Swanson, Smith and Trinity Rodman offered the offensive firepower wanted to propel the group previous its opponents whereas Naomi Girma and Naeher shut down scoring alternatives, permitting simply two objectives by way of the six Olympic matches performed.
Getting the group to the highest of the rostrum simply 10 video games into her tenure, head coach Emma Hayes reasserted the People’ standing atop girls’s soccer and validated her strategy. Any questions on her choices across the roster (like leaving USWNT veteran Alex Morgan off the Olympic squad) or sport plan (sticking together with her most popular beginning lineup regardless of considerations about fatigue) have been silenced with the win.
For the retiring Marta, the silver is a bittersweet ship off for a soccer legend who began on the bench for Brazil after serving a two-game suspension for a pink card earlier within the event. Coming in after the halftime break, the Brazilian star was welcomed by a rapturous applause as she took the pitch for her closing Olympic match, with plans to retire from worldwide play on the finish of the 12 months. However not even Marta may get previous Naeher to even the rating, leaving Brazil with out the evasive Olympic gold as soon as once more.
