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For the first time in 12 years, the United States women’s national team are Olympic champions after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Brazil in the tournament final on Saturday.
Mallory Swanson delivered the winning goal for the Americans while goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher made several key stops to preserve the triumph. It marks the first major trophy win for the USWNT in the Hayes-era.
The game didn’t begin as Hayes would’ve hoped in her first major tournament final since taking the USWNT job 70 days ago, however. From the opening whistle, Brazil dominated the first half in nearly every way imaginable. Within two minutes, Ludmila had snuck behind the American back line for a free shot on goal which she luckily scuffed, allowing Naeher to save, but the threat was palpable.
Ludmila came extremely close to opening the scoring again in the 16th minute when she beat Naomi Girma one-on-one to open goalscoring space for herself. Crucially, the USWNT had kept Ludmila’s original run offside so the goal would not count for Brazil.
Solutions only further evaded the USWNT as the half progressed with the Americans struggling to release from their own half. Brazil continued doing an excellent job of building quickly into the attacking third and regaining the ball high up the pitch when they lost it to create space for service from the flanks.
The USWNT was fortunate to see an empty scoreline into halftime, especially as the referee allowed Crystal Dunn to get away with a rather clear foul inside the box without giving a penalty. Even Naeher was forced to make another save late in the half.
Momentum stabilized as the second half sparked the USWNT to find a foothold in the match with an increased intensity but the Americans were still limited to chances like Sam Coffey’s missed shot from the top of the box.
That is until Korbin Albert picked off a loose Brazilian pass before immediately feeding Swanson’s run behind Brazil’s back three. The…
Source link : https://sbisoccer.com/2024/08/uswnt-edges-brazil-to-claim-first-olympic-gold-medal-since-2012
Author : Justin Ruderman
Publish date : 2024-08-10 18:21:48
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