Paris Olympics on channels 26.7.–11.8. Go to the competition website here. You can find the entire program of the games here.
After last summer’s World Cup fiasco, few would have believed that the US women’s national soccer team would celebrate Olympic gold a year later.
On Saturday night, however, this happened, when the USA was able to pick up the brightest of the medals – for the fifth time in the history of the US women’s national soccer team. In the final, Brazil fell 1–0 by Mallory Swanson by hitting
At the same time, the United States took its first championship with its fresh-from-the-box head coach by Emma Hayes under.
– This is a really emotional moment. This has been my dream. I want to thank my late father who has pushed me towards this position where I get to coach this incredible team. The players have been so welcoming and have done everything I’ve asked. They are great people, players and role models, Hayes praised.
Hayes didn’t start his job until the end of May, as he coached Chelsea, which is playing in the English Super League, in the season that has yet to end. Hayes led the London giant to the fifth consecutive championship. In total, Chelsea managed to celebrate seven league titles, five FA Cup wins and two League Cup wins under Hayes’ leadership.
Sports expert Hanna Ruohomaan according to Hayes brought calmness to the US team.
– The players trust Hayes, but also themselves, because Hayes has trusted the players so much. Hayes already had good, world-class players, but he gave them a functioning game system, self-confidence and clarified the roles of the players, Ruohomaa commented.
Hayes shrugged even before the Olympic tournament by leaving a conker out of the team by Alex Morgan.
This is how the final match went
In the opening half, Brazil was the more cheerful of the teams, and only to Ludmila several scoring opportunities were offered. In the second minute, he got the better of the USA keeper, who played a great Olympic tournament Alyssa Naeher with and got the ball past Naeher at the end of the quarter, but the situation was flagged for offside.
At the end of the opening half, Brazil still had a top spot, but Naeher stretched again with his top save Gabi Portilho in front of the bet.
So we went into the break with a score of 0-0.
The USA’s lead goal came out of the blue when Korbin’s Albert a great vertical pass found Mallory Swanson. The situation was still checked by VAR, because Sophia Smith appeared to be offside. However, Smith didn’t touch the ball, but Swanson, who ran from behind, finished wonderfully past Lorena’s.
Brazil responded by making three substitutions, and in came the all-time legend of women’s football Martafor whom the finished Olympic tournament was already the sixth of his career.
No shocking final letter from Brazil was seen, though Adriana was able to score in extra time Angelina’s serving. However, Naeher, who played a wonderful tournament, made another brilliant save and the USA’s lead held until the end.
According to expert Hanna Ruohomaa, the match was decided by Brazil’s ineffectiveness and weak finishing.
– Brazil got into dangerous areas, but couldn’t finish. If you compare Brazil’s game to the semi-final against Spain, they couldn’t maintain their level in the second half. I was left wondering if Brazil had a little blowout after the win against Spain. They were so sensationally good against Spain that I haven’t seen that from Brazil since the beginning of the 2000s, Ruohomaa began.
If Brazil was better in the opening half, the roles changed in the second half.
– USA broke the game and Brazil couldn’t go behind the line anymore. The USA clearly got a boost from keeping a clean sheet for so long, as no one scored against them in the playoffs. Alyssa Naeher already made top saves against Germany in the semi-final.
– The USA succeeded again in one of its only places. Emma Hayes’ teams don’t play the most beautiful football in the world, but they are effective. It doesn’t have to be pretty, as long as it produces results, Ruohomaa continued.
Marta’s farewell ended in disappointment
If the USA wasn’t among the champions of the tournament, neither was the silver team Brazil.
Brazil, which played its best years in the early 2000s, won only one of its three matches in the opening series, when Nigeria narrowly fell 1–0.
However, in the playoffs, the team found a new gear. First, it surprised France 1–0 in the quarterfinals, and in the semifinals, it knocked out the reigning world champion Spain with a 4–2 win.
Read also: Marta’s national team career will be crowned in the Olympic final after all – the expert opens up why Spain collapsed
Many believed that the team played for the all-time legend of women’s football, 38-year-old Marta, who announced that the Olympic tournament will be her last prestigious tournament in the national team shirt.
Marta received a red card in the final match of the first series after kicking Spain Olga Carmona in the head, and had to watch the next two matches from the side of the stand.
Brazil progressed as if without Marta until the final match, where it was fate again to win silver against the United States. Brazil and the USA have met three times in the Olympic final, but Brazil has always had to leave with duller medals.
The star forward Marta, who was chosen as the sixth best player in the world, was ultimately left without the brightest medal in the prestigious tournaments. In his career, he played in six Olympic Games and World Championships. Marta’s trophy cabinet includes, among other things, Olympic silver from 2004, 2008 and World Championship silver from 2007.