The best things come in threes and the U.S. women’s national team front three is no exception. On Tuesday in the Olympic Games semifinal, it was Sophia Smith who scored the winning goal. But collectively, Smith, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson have contributed to 10 of the team’s 11 goals this tournament.
“Honestly, I don’t remember anything that just happened,” Smith told NBC after the match. “I know Mal played me a perfect through ball. I know I had to step up in a big moment for this team.”
By now it’s clear U.S. women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes wants to stick with her chosen starting XI as far as they can go. The team had some forced rotation when defender Tierna Davidson returned from injury and midfielder Sam Coffey returned from a yellow card suspension. However, Davidson only played one half and was substituted for Emily Sonnett at halftime. Another key player, midfielder Rose Lavelle, came off in the 60th minute for forward Lynn Williams, perhaps nursing some foot or ankle tenderness from a hard block in the quarterfinal against Japan.
For their part, Germany didn’t look fresh either, which seemed to manifest in a highly physical game with plenty of shoves and barges. Was it by design to frustrate the U.S. and break up any attempt at rhythm? Was it just the clumsiness of exhaustion? Perhaps a bit of both? But in the final minute of extra time, it was USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher’s kick save that sealed the victory for the U.S.
“We had a hard year last year,” Smith said. “I’m so proud of us for just finding a way in these last few games.”
Jeff Rueter and Steph Yang take us through how the U.S. earned a spot in its first gold medal match in 12 years.
Sophia Smith has gears we haven’t heard of yet
After 90 minutes of a stalemate against Germany, Smith finally broke open Ann-Katrin Berger’s stolid goalkeeping as she pounced on a lovely through pass from Swanson and, with a little turbo boost, was able to get her foot to the ball and one-time it into the goal. Berger was coming off of her line to collect and Smith was just that much faster nearly 100 minutes into a hot evening game in Lyon. It was reminiscent of Rodman’s tiebreaker in extra time against Japan. Both goals came from a deep reserve of something that seems beyond just a competitive mentality.
Every player on the field is competitive, but Smith, alongside Swanson and Rodman, and backed up by substitute Williams, was clearly digging up effort and energy from unknown depths.
¡¡¡GOOOOOOOOL DE ESTADOS UNIDOS!!! ¡¡¡SE ABRIÓ EL MARCADOR!!! 🚨
Sophia Smith define ante la salida de la arquera ⚽️🥅
📺 Peacock ➡️ https://t.co/FSxsuojLFH
📱 Telemundo APP ➡️ https://t.co/LlvVyAgbNf#OlimpicosTelemundo #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/8EQ7tyLF8q— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) August 6, 2024
Smith went to the huddle after the first 15 minutes of extra time massaging her right thigh with a light grimace, but you’d never guess she was in discomfort from her performance on the field. It was truly the marriage of the classic “if we can’t outplay you, we’ll outlast you” American mentality with players who actually could still outplay the opposition. No brute-force emergency goal for Smith and Swanson but the same balanced one-two punch they’ve been assembling against teams for months.
Steph Yang
In a tournament run otherwise lauded for the performance of three attackers, the United States’ semifinal instead showcased a defender at the top of her game.
Since Becky Sauerbrunn was ruled out for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the USWNT backline has been Naomi Girma’s to lead. Girma only debuted as a professional in 2022, yet patrols the defensive third with the kind of composure and all-around excellence that’s more commonly expected from a grizzled veteran. The United States has relied heavily on her ability on the ground and in the air alike throughout this tournament, especially as her central partner has had to alternate between Davidson and Sonnett due to injury concerns around the former.
Throughout Tuesday’s shift, Girma checked all the boxes for a prototypical modern center back. Calm on the ball? She carried the ball for 687 meters — 24 per cent of the entire USWNT’s dribbling distance. Able to sustain possession with her distribution? She completed 125 passes from 132 attempts in a game where only one other player from either team attempted at least 100. She even created two chances for her teammates, trailing only Rodman and Swanson. Remembering that, despite this, defending is in fact a vital part of her job. Girma led the team in ball recoveries (13), clearances (5) and interceptions (3).
The most confounding part of all this is that Girma turned 24 in June. It isn’t unrealistic to think that she could sustain (or build upon) playing at this caliber for another decade, and she’s bound to refine some technical aspects and pick up some more savvy decision-making as she logs more minutes. At this stage, it shouldn’t be questioned whether she’s among the world’s best defenders — that much has become clear. She may be one of the finest players at any position anywhere on this planet.
Jeff Rueter
Have teams figured out Hayes’ U.S. teams?
Since Hayes coached her first friendly in June, we’ve often referred to her rapid acclimation to international management as being a crash course. Simultaneously, the world is watching that process so they can start a seminar of their own: how to beat Hayes’ USWNT.
The Olympic sendoff friendlies seemed to clue at an early theory: park the bus, play defense-first soccer and frustrate the United States until you find a chance to try an attack. The collective approach of Mexico and Costa Rica wasn’t adopted by many at these Olympics, partially to be expected given the difference between friendlies and competitive tournament games.
Germany tried playing a true proactive style in the group stage against the USWNT and learned a hard lesson. As the pass network above illustrates, they played with their defensive line far closer to the midfield line than their box, working up the flanks in the build-up and sacrificing space in midfield. It didn’t go to plan, as Germany suffered a 4-1 defeat in the first round. Needless to say, they’d have to find a different approach if they hoped to make the gold medal match.
For 90 minutes, it looked as though they may have pulled it off. Germany adopted some of the low-block shape that worked for Costa Rica and Mexico in lower-stakes matches, dropping their backline a bit and, more importantly, ensuring far greater presence in midfield by adding extra bodies in the heart of the park. The midfield has continued to be the weak point of the USWNT throughout these Olympics, as Lindsey Horan has struggled to make a positive impact in most games during this run. Although having Coffey back from suspension helped toward that end, the United States was still thin in central areas.
With Hayes’ defense continuing to bend but seldom break, and the attack in as fine form as any the world over, the midfield is the obvious area for refinement in the coming months. This team hasn’t figured out how to navigate the central channel in the midfield third, and it’ll take time to refine those patterns of play — time that the team simply didn’t have coming into these Games. Whether Spain or Brazil wins the second semifinal, they’ll likely see what Germany did to stymie a tired USWNT a try owning the heart of the park on Saturday.
Jeff Rueter
A show of goalkeeping prowess
Two goalkeepers, both alike in dignity, in hot Lyon where we lay our scene. Has there ever been a truer demonstration of the power of goalkeeping than this game? Berger and Naeher were both instrumental in keeping the score 0-0 throughout regulation, Berger moreso given the United States’ stronger attacking presence. But Naeher was sharp too, demonstrating endurance and confidence as Germany tried to surge in extra time, at one point leaping to snatch a low cross out of midair with incredibly sticky gloves. It’s the kind of block that plenty of keepers rebound out into the box, allowing a second or third attempt at a shot, but the ball slapped into Naeher’s gloves and simply stayed there.
Berger had nine saves and faced 19 shots while Naeher had seven saves and faced 15 shots. Berger was dealing with 2.84 post-shot expected goals, which measures the likelihood of a goal based on the placement of the shot and matches the eye test, given Smith’s multiple chances facing down Berger one-on-one. But for her willingness to face down Smith, the U.S. could have been up 3-0 on Germany.
On the other end of the field, Naeher’s last-minute block to preserve the U.S. lead and avoid penalties was the stuff of legend. Perhaps Laura Freigang’s header wasn’t well-placed, and perhaps it was a bit of luck. Perhaps Naeher was playing the odds by simply making herself as big as possible and her leg happened to be in the way. In replays, you can see Naeher tracking the ball in and looking down at her foot, even though it’s all taking place in about a second flat — and this is far from the first time she’s been the difference maker in a major tournament. Tournament Naeher is a different beast from any other level of her play. Regardless of intent, the effect was undeniable: a shot at the gold medal.
Alyssa Naeher you are magnificent pic.twitter.com/Gv5tkEhLP0
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) August 6, 2024
Steph Yang
What next for USWNT?
The United States heads to its first Olympic women’s gold medal match since the 2012 London Games. They will face the winner of Brazil vs. Spain.
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(Top photo: John Todd/Getty Images)
