USA vs. Brazil: Match Recap & Highlights | 2024 Paris Olympics Gold Medal Match

PARIS (Aug. 10, 2024) – The U.S. Girls’s Nationwide Staff has returned to its conventional place atop the rostrum, claiming a report fifth Olympic gold medal with Saturday’s 1-0 triumph towards Brazil within the 2024 Olympic Gold Medal match at Parc des Princes in Paris.

Because it did all match, the self-proclaimed “Triple Espresso” ahead line made the successful distinction. On the event of her a hundredth cap, Mallory Swanson made American soccer historical past together with her “golden” purpose within the second half. The trio of Swanson, Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman tallied 10 of the USA’s 12 objectives throughout its six-game Olympic run, and every scored a match-winner within the knockout stage. Additionally they mixed for 5 assists, demonstrating the USA’s attacking rebirth below head coach Emma Hayes.

Saturday’s victory was an indication of this system’s resilience and relentless consistency. On 5 events, the USA stumbled on the FIFA Girls’s World Cup. Every time, it was topped Olympic champion the next 12 months. At a sold-out Parc des Princes, 12 months and 4 days after an exit within the Spherical of 16 from the World Cup in Australia, the U.S. added the 2024 Olympic gold medal to these gained in 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012. The fourth, gained in London, marked the one different time the USWNT went 6W-0D-0L on the Olympics.

The latest {hardware} was earned in Hayes’ tenth sport on the helm. The USA is 9W-0L-1D below her management and has by no means trailed. She turned the fourth USWNT coach to win her first main match on the job. Hayes made a key resolution Saturday as her lineup on the Parc des Princes featured a single change from the semifinal win over Germany. Korbin Albert earned her second Olympic begin and changed Rose Lavelle in midfield.

Hayes has prioritized connection and consistency in France, beginning 9 gamers in every of the primary 5 Olympic matches. Lavelle was one among them, and though Albert turned the youngest American lady to begin an Olympic ultimate (20 years, 302 days), she earned the chance with a strong quarterfinal efficiency towards Japan and her successful purpose within the group stage finale towards Australia. Albert’s insertion additionally allowed the USA to copy the midfield (together with Lindsey Horan and Sam Coffey) that blanked Brazil, 1-0, within the Concacaf W Gold Cup Closing in March. That was the fourth time the edges met in a significant worldwide ultimate. Saturday would mark the fifth, and third on the Olympic Video games.

Ninth-ranked Brazil, losers of every of these earlier showdowns, began brightly in Paris. Six-time FIFA World Participant of the Yr Marta, again from a two-game suspension, started the Gold Medal match on the bench. However fellow Seleção ahead Ludmila, the brand new Chicago Purple Stars signing, examined the U.S. early. She slipped behind the USA protection in simply the second minute earlier than sending her 10-yard shot straight to goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. Ludmila then fired the ball previous Naeher within the sixteenth, however the Brazilian was a step offside on her run although the left channel seconds earlier than.

Ten minutes later, the USA took benefit of the sport’s wide-open nature and almost went forward by Swanson. She blew previous Brazil’s Lauren on the left and as middle again Tarciane slid in for the sort out, Swanson deftly poked a six-yard shot that was swatted away by goalkeeper Lorena.

That may be the USA’s greatest likelihood of the half because the energetic Seleção, which suffered two defeats throughout the group stage earlier than upsetting France and Spain within the knockout rounds, entered the intermission with momentum (and an 8-2 shot benefit). However the Brazillians didn’t have the lead. Naeher noticed to that, making an impressive response save on a stoppage-time redirection from Gabi Portilho.

The USWNT didn’t want a number of probabilities, its dominant entrance three simply wanted the fitting one. The second got here within the 57th minute as Albert rewarded Hayes’ religion and despatched the Brazilian protection into disarray with a nicely-weighted by ball. Smith, who was celebrating her twenty fourth birthday, had the primary likelihood at it. However realizing she might need been a step offside, the striker well left it for Swanson. The ahead was in alone for the second time and on this event, she got here by, firing the ball to Lorena’s left.

It was Swanson’s fourth purpose of the Olympics and injected power into the U.S. aspect, which remained on the entrance foot. Marta, 38, lastly entered the match within the 61st as Brazil sought to craft a storybook comeback for the retiring legend. However gaps have been opening, and Rodman was inches from doubling the lead within the sixty fourth minute. Smith then minimize to the fitting and shot large of the left put up a minute later.

The usdefense solidified because the match wore on and closed off a lot of the area that had been obtainable within the opening half. Marta curled an 89th-minute free kick over the crossbar and Adriana was minimize off by Naeher on the proper put up seconds later. Supplied with 10 minutes of stoppage time, Brazil pressured another excellent save from the veteran netminder, who leaped to her proper to satisfy Adriana’s header within the 94th.

Naeher, who has now backstopped the USA to Girls’s World Cup and Olympic titles, set a program report together with her fourth shutout in a single Olympic match and posted clear sheets within the quarterfinal, semifinal and ultimate. She is the primary goalkeeper in girls’s soccer historical past to report cleans sheets in each the World Cup and Olympic ultimate.

The whistle lastly blew—time was prolonged additional after Horan was concerned in a heavy collision—and the People have been topped champions. The USA improved its all-time report towards Brazil to 33W-3L-5D and its benefit in official competitors to 9W-1L-2D. The U.S. now has defeated the Seleção within the ultimate of the 2000 Concacaf Girls’s Championship, the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Brazil, an eight-time South American champion, stays and not using a main world title after setbacks within the 2007 Girls’s World Cup Closing and the aforementioned three Olympic finals.

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN

USA – Mallory Swanson (Korbin Albert), 57th minute: Albert discovered the ball on the midfield stripe and slipped an ideal cross by three Brazilian defenders and into the trail of Sophia Smith. The striker seemed to be barely offside, nonetheless, and he or she well peeled away to go away the ball for Swanson. Swanson bore down on purpose and fired a right-footed shot previous Lorena. USA 1, BRA 0 FINAL.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• The U.S. Girls’s Nationwide Staff claims its fifth Olympic gold medal, 4 greater than another nation in Olympic Girls’s Soccer historical past. The USA is now 5W-1L-0D all-time in Olympic Gold Medal matches
• That is the USA’s seventh general Olympic medal, with 5 gold (1996, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2024), one silver (2000) and one bronze (2020). Germany has gained the next-most Olympic medals with 5 (one gold, 4 bronze).
• The 12-year hole between gold medals marked the longest the USA had gone with out topping the rostrum in Olympic historical past.
• That is the second Olympic medal for eight gamers on this roster, as Tierna Davidson, Crystal Dunn, Lindsey Horan, Casey Krueger, Rose Lavelle, Alyssa Naeher, Emily Sonnett and Lynn Williams additionally gained bronze on the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
• For the remaining 12 eligible gamers, that is their first Olympic gold medal. Per IOC rules, alternates Croix Bethune and Emily Sams will obtain a medal as they appeared on a matchday roster.
• Emma Hayes joins Anson Dorrance as the one head coaches in USWNT historical past to win each match of their first main match, with Dorrance successful all six video games on the 1991 FIFA Girls’s World Cup.
• The USA’s gold medal victory is available in simply Hayes’ tenth match on the helm of the USWNT, the quickest by any head coach to win a World Cup or Olympics in girls’s soccer historical past.
• The USWNT by no means trailed on the Paris 2024 Olympics or at any level in its 10 video games below Emma Hayes. The one different time the USWNT went a complete Olympics with out trailing was throughout its run to the 2004 gold medal in Greece. The USWNT has gained three World Cups – 1991, 2015 and 2019 – with out trailing at any level within the match.
• Swanson turned the ninth participant in USWNT historical past to attain whereas incomes her a hundredth cap and the primary to take action since Lindsey Horan scored in her a hundredth cap towards New Zealand on the delayed Tokyo Olympics.
• Swanson is the sixth participant all-time to attain for the USWNT in an Olympic Gold Medal match, becoming a member of Tiffeny Milbrett (3 objectives), Carli Lloyd (3), Abby Wambach, Shannon MacMillan and Lindsay Tarpley.
• Swanson is the forty fourth participant in USWNT historical past to achieve 100 worldwide appearances and at 26 years previous, she’s the youngest participant to achieve the century mark since 25-year-old Amy Rodriguez achieved the feat in 2012. Swanson is the fifteenth youngest participant all-time to achieve milestone for the USWNT.
• Swanson’s purpose was her team-leading fourth of the match, tied for the second-most by a USWNT participant at a single Olympics. Solely Abby Wambach had extra, scoring 5 at London 2012. Swanson’s 5 profession Olympic objectives – one in 2016, 4 in 2024 – are tied with Mia Hamm, Tiffeny Milbrett and Megan Rapinoe for fourth-most in U.S. Olympic historical past.
• Naeher is the primary goalkeeper in girls’s soccer historical past to maintain a clear sheet in each a World Cup ultimate and an Olympic ultimate, having additionally shut out Netherlands within the 2019 FIFA Girls’s World Cup Closing in Lyon. Hope Solo is the one different goalkeeper to maintain a clear sheet in an Olympic Gold Medal match.
• That is Naeher’s fourth shutout of Paris 2024, passing Hope Solo for essentially the most shutouts by any USWNT goalkeeper at a single Olympics. Solo recorded three clear sheets throughout the USA’s runs to gold in each 2008 and 2012.
• The beginning lineup to face Brazil averaged 26.7 years of age, making it the second-youngest lineup to ever begin for the USWNT in a Gold Medal match, trailing solely the XI that began the 1996 Olympic ultimate (25.8 years previous). It’s the third-youngest beginning lineup for the USWNT in a world championship ultimate, after the 1996 Olympics (25.8 common age) and the 1991 Girls’s World Cup (23.8).
• Lindsey Horan turned the fourth participant to captain the USWNT in an Olympic Gold Medal match, becoming a member of Carla Overbeck (1996), Julie Foudy (2000, 2004) and Christie Pearce (2008, 2012).
• At 20 years, 302 days,Korbin Albert turned the youngest participant to ever begin for the USWNT in an Olympic Gold Medal match, breaking the report beforehand set by Lindsay Tarpley in 2004 (20 years, 339 days). Albert, who began the quarterfinal at Parc des Princes towards Japan, is the third-youngest participant to begin for the USWNT in a world championship ultimate, trailing solely Mia Hamm (19 years, 258 days) and Kristine Lilly (20 years, 131 days) once they began the 1991 World Cup ultimate towards Norway.
• Albert’s help was the primary of her worldwide profession.

– U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT –

Match: United States Girls’s Nationwide Staff vs. Brazil
Date: Aug. 10, 2024
Competitors: Paris 2024 Olympics Closing
Venue: Parc des Princes; Paris, France
Attendance: 43,813
Kickoff: 3 p.m. native / 9 a.m. ET
Climate: 84 levels, sunny

Lineups:
USA: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 2-Emily Fox; 4-Naomi Girma, 12-Tierna Davidson (14-Emily Sonnett, 74), 7-Crystal Dunn; 3-Korbin Albert, 17-Sam Coffey, 10-Lindsey Horan; 5-Trinity Rodman, 11-Sophia Smith (8-Lynn Williams, 84), 9-Mallory Swanson (6-Casey Krueger, 90+5)
Substitutes not used: 18-Casey Murphy, 13-Jenna Nighswonger, 15-Jaedyn Shaw, 16-Rose Lavelle
Head coach: Emma Hayes

BRA: 1-Lorena; 21-Lauren (4-Rafaelle, 84), 3-Tarciane, 15-Thais; 9-Adriana (Capt.), 8-Vitoria Yaya (17-Ana Vitoria, 50), 5-Duda Sampaio (20-Angelina, 61), 13-Yasmin; 18-Gabi Portilho, 11-Jheniffer (19-Priscila, 61), 14-Ludmila (10-Marta, 61)
Substitutes not used: 12-Taina, 16-Gabi Nunes
Head coach: Arthur Elias

Stats Abstract: USA / BRA
Pictures: 9 / 13
Pictures on Aim: 3 / 4
Saves: 4 / 3
Nook Kicks: 5 / 7
Fouls: 12 / 15
Offside: 5 / 2

Misconduct Abstract:
BRA – Tarciane (Warning)81st minute

Officers:
Referee: Tess Oloffson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Almira Spahic (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Francesca di Monte (ITA)
4th Official: Rebecca Welch (GBR)
VAR: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
AVAR 1: Carlos del Cerro Grande (ESP)
AVAR 2: Jerome Brisard (FRA)

Michelob Extremely Superior Girl of the Match: Alyssa Naeher