Au revoir, Paris! — Americans win gold medal

But at the same time, I’m so incredibly lucky to be able to do this for a living. I saw the U.S. win a gold medal! It’s important not to lose sight of all the things that make this job awesome.

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Here are the main takeaways from the 2024 Paris Games:

USWNT finds its joie de vivre

Let’s credit new USWNT head coach Emma Hayes. 

The United States went undefeated in a journey across France that took them to Nice, Marseille, Lyon and Paris. In the final at Parc des Princes, they met Brazil, a team they had beaten for the gold medal in both the 2004 and 2008 Games.

The U.S. came away with a 1-0 victory for the team’s record fifth Olympic gold medal, but first since 2012.

The Americans had stumbled at last summer’s World Cup with their worst-ever finish in the tournament. As a result, the United States dropped to No. 5 in the world rankings, its lowest rank in history. 

That’s firmly in the past now. Hayes has fostered a close, cohesive group in just 10 games with the team.

Forward Mallory Swanson warned teammate Sophia Smith not to touch the ball because she was offside, then burying it herself in the 57th minute. Goalie Alyssa Naeher preserved the 1-0 victory with a one-handed stoppage time save on Adriana’s header. 

“We’ve got a special group. It’s been really fun to be a part of,” Naeher said. “I think you saw the unity all tournament long and just that togetherness of this team. This team dug deep and fought hard all the way through.”

U.S. defender Casey Krueger brought her son through the mixed zone afterward.

Marta says goodbye

Brazil took home its third silver medal, with all three of its losses in the final match to the United States. It was the final international tournament for the legendary Marta, the six-time world player of the year who played in her first of six Olympics in 2004 at age 18.

The fans at Parc des Princes on Saturday understood the assignment and gave Marta a standing ovation as she walked off the field. 

“I look back and I remember everything I had to do. I left my family behind when I was 14 to chase the dream of playing football, a sport that hasn’t always been considered to be for women. And today things are very different, and we can say it’s one of the most popular sports, and it keeps growing,” Marta said. “I can’t feel anything but pride at the moment.”  

We Americans are lucky — we still get to see her play with the Orlando Pride.

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What the heck Canada?

Before the tournament in France started, Canada was embroiled in a drone-spying scandal. Seems like that was forever ago!

New Zealand spotted a drone hovering over practice, and authorities detained a Canadian staff member. But as the investigation widened, Canada Soccer CEO and general secretary Kevin Blue suggested surveillance of opponents was systemic. 

FIFA fined Canada Soccer, banned coach Bev Priestman for a year and docked the Canadian women six points in the group — a devastating blow. Canada appealed the points part of the punishment, but was denied.

Canada won all of its group matches and eked out a spot in the knockout round before falling to Germany on a penalty shootout after a scoreless draw in the quarterfinals. 

“I can’t quite find the tears because I shed them all this past week,” Canada defender Vanessa Gilles said afterward. “So to have gotten this far, I think is a testament to our group.”

Links

Slate, which doesn’t wade into sports much, theorizes that the USWNT is driving the world nuts

The Guardian on Emma Hayes’ guiding the team back to gold

The Washington Post with a column on the USWNT’s new era

ESPN’s Sam Borden writes that the gold is just Hayes’ first step

Jeff Kassouf writes that the USWNT regained respect with the win

The Athletic’s Meg Linehan writes about Marta

My colleague James Robson’s story on Marta

The USL Super League is coming!

Megan Rapinoe is the USWNT’s soccer mom

Explaining the Triple Espresso nickname

Goal takes a look at what happened to Spain

Hey all, just want to point out that the AP covered all of the Olympics. You can find all of our stories, including all of mine right here. I’m not going to link everything I wrote over there, because there was one day I wrote five different stories. It was a lot!

Finally, here’s Mallory Swanson speaking on a variety of topics before the gold medal match. I can post this now that the Olympics are over!