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The United States Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT), revived by a fresh-faced coaching staff and a roster of young, dynamic players positioned to keep the squad at the top of the table for the next decade or more, won the Olympic gold medal on Saturday at Parc des Princes, defeating Brazil in the final 1-0. Team USA, which hadn’t won an Olympic gold medal since 2012, in London, and was bounced from last year’s World Cup in the round-of-16, the earliest-ever exit for an American team, returns to its familiar position as the team-to-beat.

After a scoreless first half in which Brazil attacked early and often, with an attempt at goal two minutes in and a fantastic chance in stoppage time that U.S. keeper Alyssa Naeher kept out of the net, Mallory Swanson put the U.S. on the scoreboard in the 57th minute, with a barely-defended run up the left side, off an assist from Korbin Albert. Sophia Smith was closer to the ball, but Swanson realized Smith was offsides. “I was like, don’t touch it, do not touch this,” Swanson said. “But then it was on me to put it away” off of a pass from Albert. Swanson had an earlier opportunity to score and failed to get the ball in the net. “In the first half I had an opportunity [that was] kind of similar and I didn’t put it away,” she said. “So just mentally I was [en]visioning that.” When she did put it away,  it invigorated the U.S. women, who followed with a couple more crowd-pleasing opportunities that were blocked by Brazilian defenders. 

In stoppage time, Naeher made a nifty one-handed stop to preserve the victory.   

Emma Hayes, the Brit who won seven titles with Chelsea F.C. in the Women’s Super’s League and was tapped by U.S. soccer officials late last year to retool the USWNT—she joined after leading Chelsea in May to yet another championship—led the team to gold in her first global competition as head coach. Hayes made several key moves. First and foremost, she restored the players’ confidence in the team’s tactical approach, and credited the groundwork that had been laid before she took the head position. That allowed for a “real shift to make it easier for me when I came in. I genuinely believe that I came in the right moment,” Hayes said 

“The learning that we're obtaining in the meetings, the field, everything that we're taking in, I think that's probably the coolest thing for me,” U.S. captain Lindsey Horan said before the Olympics. “To see players really thinking and really asking questions and getting challenged, that's what we need.”     

Hayes made the difficult decision to leave U.S. legend Alex Morgan off the Olympic roster. But that choice allowed Hayes to add a trio of lethal ball-strikers— Swanson, 26, Sophia Smith, 24, and Trinity Rodman, 22— to shoulder the scoring load. This group, nicknamed “Triple Trouble” by former USWNT player Christen Press, and “The Triple Express” by a U.S. fan interviewed by a very loud Parc des Princes emcee before the game, has rewarded Hayes’ faith. They have scored 10 of the USWNT’s 12 Olympic goals. Rodman curled a beautiful strike into the top left corner of the goal in extra time, against Japan, in the quarterfinal. Smith scored late against Germany in the semi final to give the United States a 1-0 victory and Swanson scored the gold-medal winning goal.

After the victory, Hayes attributed the victory to the team’s dogged belief in themselves, despite the World Cup finish—a trait that she, as a Brit, feels she shares in common with Americans. “Winning is in my DNA…and this is part of [their] DNA and that mentality is why I love this country,” she said. “That’s why I’m so made for it because of that mentality of never, ever say die and gut it out and grit it out and grind it out; we find things in ourselves that weren’t there before.”

She credited the US with giving her opportunities early in her own career, and said  “America means more to me than most people realize. I was a 20 year old who came from a pretty stuffy society that didn’t embrace the women’s game or women in football, and I went to America, and they looked after me, and they nurtured me, and they opened doors for me, and they gave me opportunities that England never, ever gave. And I’m just so happy, so happy to repay that faith in me.”

She added that in the short two months since she has led the USWNT, “I’ve had a f’in blast. I felt lighter than I have in a long, long time; I felt at times that I was in university.”

That lightness translated to the players as well, who talked about the joy they felt in training and playing with Hayes. “We’re all playing with joy; we’re having so much fun,” said Swanson. 

American soccer supporters turned out in droves in Paris, as expected, wearing red-white-and-blue Rodman, Smith, Horan, and Naomi Girma shirts—Girma, 24, played in every minute of the Olympics tournament, serving notice that she’s one of the best defensive players in the world. Noticeably absent were Morgan and Megan Rapinoe jerseys. And they may not be returning any time soon, as a new generation of the USWNT has put the world on notice. “We know that there’s so much more in us,” said co-captain Lindsey Horan. “There’s so much more potential in the way we can play, in the way we can break down opponents. My gosh, seeing the potential for 2027 [in the World Cup], I’m very excited.” The USWNT has turned the page. The team’s in golden hands. 

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