USWNT wins gold at Paris Olympics with 1-0 victory over Brazil
For the first time in 12 years, the gold medal is coming back to the United States.
The U.S. women's national team defeated Brazil 1-0 — thanks to Mallory Swanson's terrific goal in the second half and many critical saves by Alyssa Naeher — to win gold at the Paris Olympics, its first since the 2012 London Games.
The USWNT, which was not the favorite entering these Games, has now won a record five Olympic gold medals.
Remarkably, this was only Emma Hayes' 10th game with the squad after taking over fully in June following a legendary career at Chelsea. It was only 370 days ago that the Americans were ousted from the World Cup in the round of 16 and it felt like the sky was falling. Enter Hayes, that "serial winner" U.S. Soccer was looking for, who quickly and methodically implemented her style and tactics. She made tough decisions, like leaving Alex Morgan off this roster, and, despite critics, consistently rolled with the starting lineup that she believed could lead the Americans to success.
The first half started out a bit shaky for the U.S. Brazil, who knocked off defending World Cup champs Spain in the semifinal match, came out in a high press with lots of energy, which was effective. Naeher made her first important save less than two minutes in, and Ludmila had a goal called offside. The USWNT's front three – the self-proclaimed "Triple Espresso" – didn't have a clear chance to score. The broadcast and social media were calling for substitutes at halftime.
As has been the case over the course of this tournament, Hayes didn't rotate much, save for a few second half changes. The players, exhausted by six games in 17 days and certainly had tired legs, dug deep and once again found a way to win.
And they did so in front of a lively Parc des Princes, which was loaded with celebrities, from Tom Cruise to Megan Rapinoe to Arsene Wenger and more.
Here are takeaways from the match:
Play of the game
With the U.S. leading 1-0 with 10 minutes of stoppage time added, Naeher amazingly saved a header by Brazilian captain Adriana from close range to preserve the USWNT's win.
This was the last and most critical of all of Naeher's saves, and similar to the one she had in the final moments of the semifinal vs. Germany.
Turning point
In the 57th minute, Brazil turned the ball over near midfield. Korbin Albert controlled it quickly and played a nice through ball to Swanson, who took two touches before nailing her shot past Brazilian goalkeeper Lorena to give the U.S. a critical 1-0 lead.
Within the play, Sophia Smith, who was celebrating her 24th birthday on Saturday, smartly steered clear of Albert's pass knowing full well that she was offside. Swanson ran onto it instead and finished.
The script couldn't have been written any better for Swanson. This was her 100th cap and fourth goal of these Games. And it can't be overstated that the 26-year-old forward missed last summer's World Cup after tearing her patella tendon, which required multiple surgeries. She's been resilient in her return and is clearly back in the form of her life.
Key stat
This is the first Olympic gold medal for every player on this USWNT squad. Not a single one of them was on the team when it stood atop the podium at the 2012 London Games.
What's next for the USWNT?
It's finally time to get some rest.
After a jam-packed and emotional year, that included the low of last summer's World Cup disaster to the high of these Paris Olympics and everything in between, the team can take a much-needed and deserved breath.
Hayes is ahead of schedule in her revamp of the program and will continue her work before the next major tournament, the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.
Between now and then, there will be Gold Cups and SheBelieves Cups and plenty of friendlies. The USWNT has four scheduled this fall, including matchups against Iceland, Argentina and then vs. England at Wembley Stadium in London on Nov. 30.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.
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