Getty/GOALA resurrected U.S. women's national team made a bold statement in Paris, reclaiming their spot at the top of the game
For the past year, the narrative had been spun. After two-and-a-half decades of unquestioned dominance, the U.S. women's national team had finally been caught. In fact, in crashing out of last summer's World Cup, the U.S. gave the impression of not just being caught, but actually being lapped by the competition.
How quickly things change. It only took six games, six wins and a fifth gold medal to remind the rest of the world of one very important fact: the USWNT isn't going anywhere.
The U.S. is golden once again, having reclaimed their spot atop the mountain in the Olympics. And while it clearly marked the dawn of a new era, it also closely resembled the best parts of a previous time. After a few years of trying to rediscover what it takes to win at the highest of levels, the USWNT solved the equation over a span of two weeks in the Paris Games.
A program steeped in historical success rebounded from recent setbacks, made another statement of intent, and added to the a long list of USWNT achievements: they've now won nine major tournaments (five Olympics, four World Cups), which is more than all other teams combined (eight). And how good is the current iteration? Consider that the USWNT never trailed at the 2024 Olympics – or at any point in their 10 games under coach Emma Hayes.
There's plenty of credit to go around. Hayes will get her fair share as the architect of this rebuild, going unbeaten in her first 10 matches at the helm of this program, including consecutive 1-0 victories in the quarterfinals, semifinals and Gold Medal match. Clearly, Hayes' restoration efforts are way ahead of schedule. Several players took leaps forward, as well, putting the world on notice.
That old narrative is over and a new one is being written. The USWNT is back on top. How did they do it? And what will it mean for the future? GOAL breaks down the USWNT's winners and losers from the 2024 Olympic Games.
