[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] August 6, 2024; Decines-Charpieu, France; Sophia Smith of the United States celebrates with teammates after scoring against Germany during the women’s soccer semifinals of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics at the Stade de Lyon. Mandatory Credit: Nir Elias/Reuters via USA TODAY Sports In 2004, 18-year-old Brazilian legend Marta broke the heart of the U.S. women’s national team when Abby Wambach scored the go-ahead goal in overtime in the Olympic gold medal game.
Four years later, the United States again won the gold medal, defeating Brazil on Carli Lloyd’s 96th-minute goal.
Marta, 38, will face her old nemesis for the final time in Paris on Saturday for the gold medal. She is seeking her first Olympic title while Team USA is seeking its fifth title, most recently in 2012.
“This team has always had a standard of winning and winning on the biggest stage,” U.S. forward Sophia Smith said. “We’re very proud of that and want to honor that in everything we do to honor the players who came before us.”
Unlike the previous five Olympics, Marta either failed or failed to succeed with Brazil, relying on her teammates to get this gold medal.
Marta, who will retire from international duty at the end of 2024, has been suspended for the past two games after picking up a red card in their last group game against Spain. Brazil qualified for the final after defeating host France in the quarter-finals and 2023 World Cup champion Spain in the semi-finals.
“Honestly, in these games without Marta, we did it for her,” Brazilian midfielder Angelina said. “We wanted to give her a really great farewell. It was a dream of mine to compete with Marta and now it’s a dream come true. To do it in an Olympic final, it’s just perfect.”
While Brazil coach Arthur Elias must decide whether to keep the lineup intact or reinsert Marta, there is no doubt who will lead the U.S. attack.
Of the 11 goals scored by the United States, Smith, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson each had three. Rodman and Smith scored in overtime in the last two games to help the team win 1-0.
“We’re so dynamic, we’re so fluid,” Smith said. “We can all play anywhere on the front line, which is very difficult to defend.”
Saturday may be especially special for Smith because he turns 24 that day.
“We want to leave with the gold,” she said. “We’ve done it so far. We’ve worked really hard… This will be the best birthday present.”
–Scene-level media
