The U.S. women’s national team is heading to the gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics thanks to Sophia Smith’s goal and Alyssa Naeher’s goalkeeping heroics in extra time during the team’s 1-0 win over Germany.
It was a physical match for the Americans, who were fouled 20 times by the Germans.
The world's No. 2-ranked team was without its captain, Alexandra Popp, and tournament leading scorer, Lea Schuller, but was still able to frustrate the USWNT. Germany found its comfort zone in the match by sitting behind the ball, letting the U.S. have possession and making it difficult for its opposition to break them down.
U.S. midfielders Rose Lavelle and Lindsey Horan were unable to impact the game with their creative passing, while the trifecta of Smith, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman couldn’t provide a spark for the team throughout the first half of the match.
The second half is when the USWNT began to pick up the tempo. Swanson thought she had won it late when, in the 86th minute, she found herself on the receiving end of a through pass and tucked the ball past German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger. However, the sideline referee raised the flag to signal an offside call.
Germany also had chances to score, but a superb outing from defender Naomi Girma kept the U.S. in the match.
After a long tactical battle that extended into extra time between Emma Hayes and Germany head coach Horst Hrubesch, Smith’s goal in the 95th minute proved to be the game-winning moment.
The 23-year-old used her pace to get on the end of a brilliant through ball from Swanson and beat a defender to strike the ball past Berger from inside of the box.
"I just saw an open net in front of me and knew I had to step up in the big moment," Smith said after the match. "I felt I had to do that for this team, we've been working so hard. I felt a lot of emotions. I was relieved, I was happy. We have a special connection with Mal. It's like I know where she will be, and she knows where I will be at all times. That was key for our goal tonight."
"It was a really tough game, and our defense was amazing," Smith added.
As expected, Germany upped its attack. In the 118th minute, Naeher’s spectacular kick-save prevented Laura Freigang’s close-range header from going into the net. The USWNT was able to hit on the counter directly after as Smith dribbled past two defenders, but the Portland Thorns forward was unable to convert the chance.
In the end, the U.S. did just enough to hold off Germany and keep a clean sheet to advance to the gold medal match.
It marked four hours of gametime since the U.S. conceded a goal, which is an unbelievable feat for Girma.
"Four hours? Wow. I think it's amazing," she said. "The key is that we all give our everything. We all play for each other and for our team. We are always focused."
Chasing history
It was another match where the U.S. faced an opposition that relied on sitting back and hitting on the counter, but Hayes’ decision to keep her starting front three in the entirety of the match paid off. Smith, Swanson and Rodman will once again need to be at the top of their game if the U.S. wants to win gold.
The Americans, who have not won gold since 2012, will play Brazil in the gold medal final at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Parc de Princes in Paris.
If the U.S. wins the final, it will be the first team in women's soccer to earn five Olympic gold medals. It will also increase its medal count in women's Olympic soccer to seven.
"We have one more game, and it's the most important game," Smith said. "But I'm so proud of us for just finding a way these past few games to get the win."