The U.S. women’s national team dominated in a 4-1 victory over fourth-ranked Germany on Sunday in the team’s second Olympic match to take command of the Group B standings. And while containing the heavyweight contender on the opposite side of the pitch took a team effort, it is the USWNT’s front line that has stolen the show so far in France and begun to define the young squad’s new identity as both refreshingly alive and contrastingly controlled.
With the same starting eleven as the team’s opening match — including Sophia Smith back from a minor injury that had her substituted early against Zambia as a precaution — the Germany game again saw head coach Emma Hayes’ favored forward trio of Smith, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman shine. And shine early they did, setting the tone for the match in its opening minutes. The end result? The USWNT became the first team to score four goals against Germany since Brazil did so in the 2008 Olympics semifinals, per Stats Perform, and the team secured its spot in the knockout phase.
Both opponents entered the Paris Games coming off their worst-ever World Cup performances. Each, however, had commanded their opening Olympic matches. Sunday’s clash was a bit of a tougher test for both, and it was the U.S. that struck first.
Smith scored her first Olympic goal off an assist from Rodman just 11 minutes into the match. The early goal once again gave the team confidence that carried through the remaining 90-plus minutes of play, even when Germany’s Giulia Gwinn tied it up at the 22nd minute mark with a goal that snuck past USWNT veteran goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. The stalemate didn’t stand for long, with Swanson putting Team USA back up four minutes later with a follow-through on a blocked attempt by Smith. Smith herself netted another shortly thereafter, successfully finding the back of the net again for a brace just before halftime to extend the USWNT’s advantage to two.
Germany clawed back more possession time in the second half and found some offensive momentum. Despite a few missteps both defensively and in transition, the USWNT remained patient and was able to reassuringly regain control.
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Defender Naomi Girma, who stunningly shut down Zambia’s Barbra Banda and Rachael Kundananji on Thursday, similarly restricted Germany’s potentially dangerous offense, specifically Gwinn. (Banda went on to record a hat trick and Kundananji a brace against Australia on Sunday, making Girma’s smothering even more impressive.) Even after losing Tierna Davidson just before the close of the first half to injury, defender Emily Sonnett slipped right into her place and kept the defensive line in tact.
The offensive icing on the cake came in the final minutes of play, when Smith was eventually tapped out as time wound down — one goal away from becoming the first American to score a hat trick in Olympic play. Her substitute Lynn Williams enhanced the victory for Team USA, giving the squad a 4-1 lead with a goal in the penultimate minute of regulation time. The swapping in of Williams, originally an alternate for this summer’s Olympic squad, did nothing to stop the frontline’s momentum.
In case you lost count, the goal tally thus far for Team USA’s electric forward line sits at three for Swanson, two for Smith, and one for Rodman and an unexpected add by Williams just two games in. Swanson is just the second player in USWNT history to score three goals in the group stage of a single Olympics tournament, with Abby Wambach being the other, according to Stats Perform.
But more than that, the way the trio has moved the ball and created options for one another continues to look increasingly effortless. Case in point: it was a break by Rodman that fed the ball to Swanson, who then found Williams for the finish. Rodman, Smith and Swanson each now also boast an assist on their 2024 Olympic stat lines as well.
It was a clear showing of confidence up front and a crucial win for the USWNT, which is now poised to finish atop the Group B standings with even a draw against the Aussies, who await them on Wednesday again in Marseille. The Matildas fell to Germany in their first match before surviving Zambia 6-5 in their second, but the U.S. appears to be in solid position heading into their final group stage contest.
It is safe to say the Emma Hayes era is now solidly underway, with an invigorating vitality and an intentional discipline emerging as the team’s fresh identity crystallizes.
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