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It’s been a while — too long — since the U.S. Women’s National Team looked like a true global contender.
Bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Elimination in the round of 16 after an uninspiring group stage at the 2023 World Cup. Many frustrating friendlies along the way. They were often good, but rarely excellent.
The team was in transition, with young talents coming in and old stars leaving. The team lacked identity, which was never a problem during the various glorious stretches of the team’s history, including four World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals.
Well, one game doesn’t mean everything is settled or that what’s next will be like what came before, but Sunday’s 4-1 win over Germany in the group stage of the Olympics was the most notable and positive result for the team since winning the 2019 World Cup final.
Not only did the Americans defeat a quality team at a major tournament, but they demonstrated an energetic style of play and a knack for putting the ball in the back of the net. If this is the impact of new coach Emma Hayes, then fans should be excited.
All three goals came during the game, when the American front line consisting of Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman simply overwhelmed the German defense.
It was a very open play, a creative play, some winning plays.
It was fun to watch, which isn’t the most important thing, but it’s historically how the Americans have played when they’re at their best.
Smith scored twice and dominated the attack. The 23-year-old used her speed and technical ability to power home a brilliant pass from Rodman in the 10th minute.
She used her strength to hold off a German defender, create space and unleash a spectacular shot that deflected off the goalkeeper and was headed in by Swanson in the 26th minute.
And his hard work was rewarded with a deflected shot from the top of the area that bounced off the post and across the line in the 44th minute.
And that was just the first half.
Does one game change everything? Of course not. This was just a group stage and it guarantees nothing. This tournament is a sprint and anything can happen. There are more contenders to come, Spain in particular. The defence needs to be stronger. Almost everyone could have played better.
Still, Germany was FIFA’s fourth-ranked team, one spot above the Americans. The U.S. had never been outside of the No. 1 or No. 2 spot in the world until August 2023. No. 5 is its lowest ranking ever. This wasn’t just a 3-0 rout of 64th-ranked Zambia in the opening match of the Olympics. This was supposed to be a challenge, a measuring stick.
And the American rose to the occasion.
Competition in women’s football is better than ever as more countries around the world have improved their development programmes and, in turn, their national teams.
However, the United States is also investing, and lately there were fears that the team had a lot of potential but lacked cohesion and tactical play. Scoring goals had become a chore. At times, simply creating opportunities with impressive offense seemed out of reach.
On Sunday everything came together in a big way against a great team on a great stage.
The Americans have six points in two games and have scored seven goals. They look like a team that can win this tournament, as they have done so many times in previous Olympics. The road will get tougher from here, but if this is what the U.S. is going to get from the front line going forward, then that future will be bright.
Uniform golden color.