The United States women’s nation team will compete for a gold medal against a familiar foe on Saturday. The USWNT will face surprise finalists Brazil for the third time in an Olympic final as the two teams begin two chapters for their respective programs. One team will walk away as Olympic champions and the others will earn a silver medal after a grueling tournament schedule. Longtime Brazilian legend Marta announced her upcoming retirement from the national team earlier this year and will be available for selection, while new USA head coach Emma Hayes has led her squad to the gold medal round after just three months on the job.
Let’s take a look at the USWNT’s opponent:
Rivalry overview
The two nations last played in the gold medal match during the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2008 Bejing Olympics. The USWNT won the gold medal in each of those meetings, and Marta was a key figure on both of Brazil’s silver medal-winning rosters. The rivalry between the teams can be directly tied to Marta’s arrival to Brazil’s national team and the two teams have faced each other in high-stakes moments ever since.
Marta’s Brazil famously eliminated the United States during the 2007 FIFA World Cup semifinals, and the United…
