USWNT 1 Germany 0: Smith goal, Naeher save give US a shot at gold
The best things come in threes, and the U.S. women’s national team’s front three is no exception. In Tuesday’s Olympic semifinal, it was Sophia Smith who scored the winning goal. But together, 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 game. “I know Mal gave me a perfect through ball. I know I had to step up at a big time for this team.”
By now, it’s clear that U.S. women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes wants to keep her chosen starting XI as long as possible. The team had some forced rotation when defender Tierna Davidson returned from an injury and midfielder Sam Coffey returned from a yellow card suspension. Davidson played only one half, however, and was replaced at halftime by Emily Sonnett. Another key player, midfielder Rose Lavelle, came on in the 60th minute for striker Lynn Williams, possibly nursing some foot or ankle pain from a hard block against Japan in the quarterfinals.
Germany also didn’t look fresh, which seemed to manifest itself in a very physical match with a lot of pushing and shoving. Was it the intention to frustrate the US and disrupt any attempt at rhythm? Was it just the clumsiness of exhaustion? Maybe a bit of both? But in the final minute of extra time, it was the save of USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher that secured the victory for the US
“We had a tough year last year,” Smith said. “I’m so proud of us for finding a way in the last couple of games.”
Jeff Rueter and Steph Yang tell us how the US earned its first spot in the gold medal game in 12 years.
Sophia Smith Has Gears We Haven’t Heard Of Yet
After 90 minutes of a draw against Germany, Smith finally broke open Ann-Katrin Berger’s dogged goalkeeping when she latched onto a lovely through ball from Swanson and, with a little turbo boost, got her foot to the ball and fired it home. Berger came off her line to collect and Smith was just that little bit quicker, nearly 100 minutes into a heated evening match in Lyon. It was reminiscent of Rodman’s extra-time tiebreaker against Japan. Both goals came from a deep reserve of something that seems to go beyond a competitive spirit.
All the players on the pitch were competitive, but Smith, along with Swanson and Rodman, and supported by substitute Williams, clearly brought out the effort and energy from uncharted depths.
¡¡¡GOOOOOOOOL THE ESTADOS UNIDOS!!! ¡¡¡SE ABRIÓ EL MARCADOR!!! 🚨
Sophia Smith defines ante la salida de la arquera ⚽️🥅
📺 Peacock ➡️ https://t.co/FSxsuojLFH
📱 Telemundo APP ➡️ https://t.co/LlvVyAgbNf#Olympic GamesTelemundo #Olympic Games in Paris photo.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 slight grimace, but you’d never guess she was suffering from her performance on the court. It was truly a marriage of the classic American “if we can’t outscore you, we’ll outlast you” mentality with players who could still outscore the opposition. No brute-force emergency goal-scoring from Smith and Swanson, just the same balanced one-two punch they’ve been mustering against teams for months.
Steph Yang
In a tournament that was praised for the performances of three attackers, the United States’ semi-final featured a defender who performed at the height of her powers.
Since Becky Sauerbrunn was ruled out of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the USWNT back line has fallen to Naomi Girma to lead. Girma only made her professional debut in 2022, but patrols the defensive third with the kind of composure and all-around excellence you’d expect from a seasoned veteran. The U.S. has leaned heavily on her prowess on the ground and in the air this tournament, especially since her center partner has had to alternate between Davidson and Sonnett due to injury concerns surrounding the former.
During Tuesday’s shift, Girma checked all the boxes for a prototypical modern center back. Calm on the ball? She carried the ball 687 yards — 24 percent of the USWNT’s total dribbling distance. Able to maintain possession with her distribution? She completed 125 passes out of 132 attempts in a game where only one other player on either team attempted at least 100. She even created two chances for her teammates, trailing only Rodman and Swanson. Keep in mind that defending is actually a critical part of her job, despite all that. Girma led the team in ball recoveries (13), clearances (5) and interceptions (3).
The most confusing part of all this is that Girma turned 24 in June. It’s not unrealistic to think she can continue playing at this caliber (or build on it) for another decade, and she’ll undoubtedly refine some technical aspects and make smarter decisions as she gets more minutes. At this point, there shouldn’t be any debate that she’s one of the best defenders in the world — that much is clear. She’s arguably one of the best players at any position on the planet.
Jeff Rueter
Have the teams figured out Hayes’ American teams?
Since Hayes coached her first friendly in June, we’ve often described her rapid acclimation to international management as a crash course. At the same time, the world is watching that process so they can launch their own seminar: How to beat Hayes’ USWNT.
The farewell Olympic friendlies seemed to point to an early theory: Park the bus, play defensive football, and frustrate the United States until you find an opportunity to attack. The joint approach of Mexico and Costa Rica was not widely adopted at these Olympics, which was partly to be expected given the difference between friendlies and competitive tournament play.
Germany tried to play a truly proactive style in the group stage against the USWNT and learned a hard lesson. As the passing network above illustrates, they played with their defensive line much closer to the midfield line than their box, working up the flanks in build-up play 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 had to find a different approach if they hoped to make it to the gold medal match.
For 90 minutes, it looked like they might pull it off. Germany adopted some of the low-block shape that worked for Costa Rica and Mexico in lower-stakes games, dropping their back line a bit and, more importantly, establishing a much larger midfield presence by adding extra bodies in the heart of the pitch. The midfield has remained the USWNT’s weak point during these Olympics, as Lindsey Horan has struggled to make a positive impact in most games during this run. While having Coffey back from suspension helped achieve that goal, the United States has still been thin in the middle.
With Hayes’ defense continuing to bend but rarely break, and the offense in as good a shape as anywhere else in the world, the midfield is an obvious area for refinement in the coming months. This team hasn’t yet figured out how to navigate the central channel in the midfield third, and it will take time to refine those patterns of play — time the team simply didn’t have before these Games. Whether Spain or Brazil win the second semifinal, they’ll likely see what Germany did to stymie a tired USWNT by taking the heart of the park on Saturday.
Jeff Rueter
A demonstration of goalkeeping qualities
Two goalkeepers, both equally worthy, in the hot Lyon where we set our scene. Has there ever been a truer demonstration of the power of goalkeeping than this match? Berger and Naeher were both instrumental in keeping the score at 0-0 throughout regulation time, Berger even more so given the stronger attacking presence of the United States. But Naeher was also sharp, showing stamina and confidence as Germany tried to push forward in extra time, at one point leaping to collect a low cross out of the air with incredibly sticky gloves. It’s the kind of block that many goalkeepers bounce back into the penalty area, allowing for a second or third attempt at a shot, but the ball smacked into Naeher’s gloves and simply lay there.
Berger had nine saves and faced 19 shots, while Naeher had seven saves and faced 15 shots. Berger had 2.84 post-shot expected goals, which measures the probability of a goal based on shot placement and matches the eye test given Smith’s multiple chances against Berger one-on-one. Had she not been willing to face Smith, the U.S. could have been up 3-0 against Germany.
On the other side of the court, Naeher’s final-minute block to preserve the American lead and avoid penalties was legendary. Maybe Laura Freigang’s header was poorly placed, or maybe it was a bit of luck. Maybe Naeher played the odds by making herself as big as possible and her leg just happened to get in the way. In replays, you can see Naeher tracking the ball and looking down at her foot, even though it all happens in about a second flat — and this is far from the first time she’s made a difference in a major tournament. Tournament Naeher is a different beast than at any other level of her game. Regardless of the intent, the effect was undeniable: a shot at the gold medal.
Alyssa Naeher, you are amazing photo.twitter.com/Gv5tkEhLP0
— The CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) August 6, 2024
Steph Yang
What’s next for the US National Team?
The United States will compete in their first Olympic women’s gold medal match since the 2012 London Games, taking on the winner of Brazil vs. Spain.
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(Top photo: John Todd/Getty Images)
