The United States women’s national team is playing Brazil in the Olympic final today at the 2024 Paris Games. The Americans are aiming to win their first gold medal since 2012, which is also the last time they made the final.
They have been led by the trio of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith, who have scored three goals apiece at these Games, while defender Naomi Girma has been something of a brick wall on the backline. All of this orchestrated by new head coach Emma Hayes, whose sense of humor and demanding style has struck the right balance for this roster.
USA TODAY Sports is bringing you live updates, highlights and analysis throughout the match. Follow along.
For the U.S., the first half of both the quarterfinals and semifinals were scoreless (and all of regulation, for that matter). The final against Brazil was no exception.
First Half: No Goals, Loads of Chances
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Both teams had their fair share of scoring chances – Brazil’s more consistent compared to the Americans – but neither side had anything to show for it.
Brazil’s Ludmila has been a handful for the U.S. back line to deal with. It looked like she put Brazil up in the 16th minute when she beat Naomi Girma off the dribble in the box, but luckily for the U.S., the offside flag went up. Alyssa Naeher came up huge during stoppage time to save a Gabi Porthilo strike.
Mallory Swanson had the United States’ best chance of scoring on a long, speedy run with the ball.
The match has been physical despite referee Tess Olofsson’s willingness to let play continue. Brazil was whistled for nine fouls compared to seven for the U.S.
Possession had been nearly even for most of the match, but Brazil largely dominated the end of the half and ended up controlling the ball 54% of the time.
In the second minute of stoppage time, U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher made a monster save on a shot by Brazil's Gabi Portilho to keep it 0-0.
In the 34th minute, Mallory Swanson and Brazil goalkeeper Lorena came together, Lorena hitting the grass and staying down for a few minutes. She got back up and stayed in the game.
In the 30th minute, the sides came in for a water and cooling break. It is 84 degrees (feels like 89) with little to no breeze. They resumed play a few minutes later.
Mallory Swanson turned on the burners – and it almost led to the match’s first goal. Tierna Davidson cleared the ball from the U.S. defensive zone and Swanson found herself one-on-one with a Brazilian defender. Swanson took a couple of huge touches to win the footrace down the field and record a shot on net in the 26th minute – but it wasn’t the best angle. The subsequent U.S. rebound effort also came up empty.
Speaking of physicality – there has been plenty more where that came from. Referee Tess Olofsson called for a VAR review in the 21st minute that would have led to a penalty shot from Brazil. The review revealed no foul on the U.S. in the box, however.
What looked like an early deficit for the Americans turned out to be offsides by Brazil. The flag went on Ludmila, who beat Naomi Girma off the dribble in the box and fired one past Naeher. Amid the cries of celebration for the Brazil fans in the stands, the referee’s arm went in the air and the side judge on the far end of the field had the flag up.
The play has been physical and referee Tess Olofsson has been mostly keeping the whistle in the pocket. Lindsey Horan had a strong tackle near midfield in which she extended her arms but play went on, even as the U.S. won the ball back. Then Mallory Swanson went down after contact at the top of the box, but again, Olofsson let play continue.
After Brazil's chance in the second minute, the U.S. women pressed in their offensive half, Sophia Smith with a shot at the 6-minute mark. Brazil goalkeeper Lorena made the save.
Brazil threatened first in the second minute when Ludmila received a ball in the box with only Naeher to beat, but couldn’t put a dangerous shot on net. Naeher easily swallowed up the attempt to diffuse the situation. The ball remained in Brazil’s attacking third and it got another shot off but that was blocked and Naeher was on it once again.
Setting the Stage: A Scorching Day in Paris
The Americans and Brazilians have kicked off.
There's a big surprise in the USWNT lineup for the Olympic final against Brazil: No Rose Lavelle in the starting lineup. Lavelle has started each of the previous five games in the tournament. But she was replaced in the lineup by Korbin Albert. Lavelle is not injured, and is available as a sub. The rest of the lineup remains unchanged:
This game will be the 100th appearance for Swanson, who has fully recovered from a devastating knee injury last year. Available subs: Casey Krueger, Lynn Williams, Jenna Nighswonger, Emily Sonnett, Jaedyn Shaw, Rose Lavelle, Casey Murphy.
NBC is airing it, Peacock is live streaming it.
Mallory Swanson is the 44th player in team history to reach the 100-cap milestone.
Here are all the games the U.S. women have played at the Paris Olympics.
Even though she's retired, Megan Rapinoe still has influence with the USWNT.
Trinity Rodman has been wearing pink braids throughout the Olympic tournament. Rapinoe, of course, was famous for her vibrant pink hair during the 2019 World Cup, which also was played in France. The USWNT won that World Cup that year, with Rapinoe picking up both the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player and the Golden Boot as its top scorer.
“I guess we needed some color somewhere and pink's the color,” Rodman said Thursday. “Pink, purple, whatever. So yeah, I guess we've got to continue that moving forward.”
The temperature at kickoff will be 85 degrees. There won’t be much cloud cover and humidity won’t be a factor. Neither will the wind, with a breeze tracking at 4 miles per hour.
Part of the reason the Americans feel like they have been able to be themselves? Emma Hayes’ sense of humor. She’s been called “hilarious,” her one-liners and zingers frequent. She is demanding, to be sure, but her ability to crack jokes puts her players at ease.
“I think the one thing I love most about Emma is that she has the perfect balance of being serious but then you also see her goofy side too,” Mallory Swanson said . “I think seeing that side of a coach helps a lot because we’re all human and she does such a good job of showing that.”
Here is what the Americans are wearing for the gold medal game against Brazil.
The road for Brazil to reach this point has been … interesting. Marta, the legend, took a red card in Brazil’s final match of group play and served a two-match suspension. The only way she could have returned to this tournament – said to be her last on the international stage – was if her teammates found a way to reach the gold-medal match. They did, and Marta will have at least one final moment in front of the globe.
The Americans' Path to Gold and Brazil's Historic Finale
Spirit won’t be enough for the Brazilians against the U.S. though. The American back line, led by Naomi Girma, is stout. Alyssa Naeher has been solid in net. Although the U.S. has not flexed the offensive firepower in France, it has at least scored enough to reward the defense. Take your pick of The Triple Threat, The Big Three, “Triple Espresso” – whatever your preference is for the trio of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith – to find the back of the net.
Score prediction: USA 2, Brazil 0
If it's an Olympics, you can find the U.S. women's national team on the medals podium. The USWNT is assured of winning a medal at the Paris Games, with only the color still to be determined by the final with Brazil. The Americans have won four golds at the Olympics (1996, 2004, 2008, 2012), more than any other team, and also have a silver from Sydney in 2000 and a bronze from Tokyo.
Do the math, and that means the USWNT has won a medal at every Olympics except 2016. Oh, and another fun fact? Two of the USWNT's golds have come after playing Brazil in the final in both 2004 and 2008.
Marta, the Brazilian great, is playing her final international match today, when Brazil faces the U.S. It’s the fourth time in her career Marta has made the final at a major tournament, and third at the Olympics. The Brazilians lost to the USWNT in 2004 and 2008. They also lost to Germany at the 2007 World Cup.
“We all wanted to play the final at the Olympics regardless of the circumstances. But of course this is an extra motivation,” Angelina said Friday. “We want to give this medal to Marta. She has given us so much throughout her career. She’s given everything she has to us and women’s football. She really deserves to play in the final.”
The USWNT is 32-7-4 all-time at the Olympics, including four gold medals, won in 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012.
The USWNT and Brazil have some history at the Olympics. The teams faced each other in the final in both 2004 and 2008, with the USWNT winning each time. Although no one from those USWNT teams is left, Brazilian icon Marta played in both games. Brazil scored one goal in those two games, by Pretinha in 2004.
“What happened in the past is far away,” Brazil coach Arthus Elias said Friday. “Football deserves great games and we should stop whining and talking about the past. We have new ingredients, new things to talk about rather than be thinking about the past.
“I’m not worried at all about what happened in the past,” Elias added. “I feel we are close to our dream coming true and that our players will do their very best tomorrow.”
The USWNT is the most-decorated team in the women's game, with four World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals. But it's been a minute since they've reached the Olympic final.
In Tokyo, the Americans won the bronze medal after falling to eventual Olympic champions Canada in the semifinals. At the Rio Olympics in 2016, the USWNT was knocked out in the quarterfinals, at the time their earliest exit ever at a major international tournament. They “topped” that dubious result last summer, losing in the round of 16 at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The last time the USWNT made the Olympic final was in 2012, when they beat Japan to win their third consecutive gold medal. No players are left from that team.
Emma Hayes paid Naomi Girma the ultimate compliment. Girma, the reigning U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, is widely recognized as one of the best centerbacks in the world. But Hayes said there’s no need for the qualifier.“She the best defender I've ever seen. Ever,” Hayes said after Girma’s stone-wall defense helped secure the USWNT’s 1-0 victory over Germany that sent the Americans into the gold medal match. “I've never seen a player as good as her in the back.”
