When the U.S. women’s national team suffered a historic exit during the round of 16 at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, it set off a rapid-fire reaction of dire straits with the 2024 Paris Olympics just months away. While casuals held expectations and worry, the USWNT players carried their own hopes and dreams and knew that only they could define themselves when it mattered most.
Multiple things can be true — the women’s game has grown, competition levels have dramatically increased, and the United States just needed some time and a coaching change to get back to championship glory. The USWNT defeated Brazil, 1-0, on Saturday in the gold medal match and returned to the top of the podium for the first time since the 2012 London Games. Armed with a new coach, tactics, and a reinvigorated belief — they are talented, and as always, capable, and now once again champions.
Pundits questioned the competitive “mentality” of the program in the months leading up to new head coach Emma Hayes’ arrival. She pushed back gently in June, reminding the players and media that there are layers to competition, and “if we can perform at our best level, then we have a chance of doing things, but we got work to do.”
They did…
