The USWNT is one match away from their ultimate goal after making their way through a grueling Olympic tournament to advance to Saturday's gold medal game against Brazil.
This will be the third Olympic gold medal match meeting for the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup finalists, with the US defeating Brazil at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Games to top the podium.
Retiring Marta fuels Brazil's podium push
While the USWNT — fresh off a disappointing 2023 World Cup run — are undoubtedly motivated in their push for gold, Brazil might have an even greater galvanizing force. Legendary Brazil footballer Marta announced in April that the 2024 Games would be her last international tournament with Brazil — a team that's never before won a World Cup or Olympic title.
What's more, Marta's teammates carried the burden of reaching the gold medal game: The 38-year-old will return on Saturday after a two-game red card suspension dating back to the team's final group stage game against Spain.
Attacking key to USWNT Olympic gold medal success
The US most recently defeated Brazil 1-0 at the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup final behind Lindsey Horan's 46th-minute goal in stoppage time. That said, Brazil arguably has more immediate momentum after rattling off two major upsets in the Olympic knockout rounds, first against France and then Spain.
To win, the US will have to stifle Brazil's potent attack in what will likely be an open end-to-end battle, while simultaneously converting their chances in front of goal.
Germany denies World Cup champs in bronze medal match
Germany beat Spain 1-0 in this morning's bronze medal contest, leaving the reigning World Cup champions and early tournament favorites without a medal for their efforts in Paris.
Giulia Gwinn put Germany ahead in the second half, sinking a penalty after being fouled in Spain's 18-yard box. Later, Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger once again played the hero for Germany, saving an Alexia Putellas penalty kick in second-half stoppage time to secure the clean sheet.
How to watch USWNT vs. Brazil in the Olympic gold-medal match
The USWNT kicks off the gold medal match against Brazil on Saturday at 11 AM ET, with live coverage across NBC networks.
The 91st, your one-stop-shop for all things USWNT at the 2024 Paris Olympics is back and breaking down the Olympic semifinals.
It wasn't always pretty, but the result remains the same. The USWNT is through to the Olympic gold medal match after back-to-back 1-0 extra time wins over Japan and Germany. Hosts Jordan Angeli, Jess McDonald, and Duda Pavao react to those games, provide player ratings, and talk through Brazil's stunning win over World Cup champions Spain.
Later, Allie Long joins in for a game of "This or That," addressing such pressing issues as whether or not Simone Biles or Katie Ledecky is the bigger GOAT.
To close things out, the crew previews the USWNT's gold medal final and discusses whether Emma Hayes should make some shock lineup changes in order to put the best XI on the pitch.
Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.
With Olympic soccer kicking off in just over a week, the USWNT isn't the only national squad prepping for the podium with a series of pre-Paris matchups. Both international friendlies and important qualifiers are on the docket, with several European teams competing for a spot in the UEFA Women's EURO 2025.
Regardless of the stakes, these performances might provide some insight into what the USWNT can expect once the Summer Games begin.
Pre-Olympic matches expose problems for top teams
Of the 12 Olympic teams, recent outings from FIFA world No. 1 Spain and No. 4 Germany featured the most shocking outcomes.
Despite dominating possession behind an opening goal from 2023 Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí, the 2023 World Cup winners fell 2-1 to No. 30 Czechia in Friday's Euros qualifier — their first loss of 2024. They managed to bounce back on Tuesday, however, beating Belgium 2-0 to finish out the league stage on top with 15 points.
Spain heads into the Summer Games aiming to become the first women’s team to win a World Cup and Olympic gold back-to-back, though they’ll need to reclaim their composure to achieve that feat in the face of an Olympic group that includes Japan, Nigeria, and Brazil.
No. 2 France took down No. 6 Sweden 2-1 in Friday's Euro qualifier, but flipped the script on Tuesday with a 3-1 loss to last-place No. 25 Republic of Ireland, who notched their first win. However, thanks to England's 0-0 draw with Sweden — also on Tuesday — France still topped their qualifying group with 12 points. Les Bleus will look for more consistent results going into the Olympics, where they're set to face Colombia, New Zealand, and Guinea in the group stage.
But it was Germany who stumbled the hardest, losing out 3-0 to No. 14 Iceland in their own Friday qualifier. After the match, Germany's head coach Horst Hrubesch didn’t mince words.
"We have to assert ourselves from the start in the individual battles. The way we played just wasn’t good," Hrubesch told reporters. "We deserved to lose. We handed them all three goals on a plate."
Tuesday also saw improvement for Germany, as they routed Austria 4-0 to claim first place in the group standings with 15 points.
But the earlier loss was still foreboding for this German squad. The two-time world champions fell to 3-2 to Zambia just weeks before the 2023 World Cup, before failing to advance past the World Cup group stage for the first time in the tournament’s history. Germany also faces some tough Olympic group stage competition, battling Australia and the USWNT before crossing paths with Zambia once again.
Friendlies rally Olympic teams outside Europe
Defending Olympic champs FIFA World No. 8 Canada defeated No. 12 Australia 2-1 on Saturday, with KC Current forward Nichelle Prince and ex-Gotham striker Evelyne Viens both scoring in the friendly. Canada will play world No. 36 Nigeria in a closed-door friendly on Wednesday before kicking off their Olympic campaign against New Zealand on July 25th.
For their part, No. 28 New Zealand drew 1-1 in a friendly with No. 64 Zambia on Saturday, while non-Olympic-bound Ecuador handed No. 22 Colombia a 2-1 send-off loss.
Alexia Putellas has re-signed with FC Barcelona on a new two-year deal that will run through 2026. The agreement includes an option for a one-year extension.
The two-time Ballon d’Or winner has been with Barcelona for 12 years, and her previous contract was set to expire next month. However, she’s spent the better part of the last two seasons battling injuries, starting with an ACL tear that kept her out of the 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship and limited her participation in Spain’s FIFA Women's World Cup win last summer.
Putellas returned in March from her latest injury setback, making 25 appearances across all competitions for Barcelona this season and scoring 10 goals.
In total, the midfielder has made 400 appearances for Barcelona. Among her 20 major trophies with the club include eight Liga F titles and two UEFA Champions League titles — including helping the team to its first European trophy in 2021.
She then won the Ballon d’Or in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022.
Putellas could add a third Champions League trophy next weekend, when Barcelona faces familiar foe Lyon, a team they’ve lost to in two previous Champions League finals. Should they secure the UWCL, they would win the quadruple for the first time, having already won Liga F, the Copa de la Reina, and the Spanish Supercopa.
Spanish player Jenni Hermoso appeared in court on Tuesday to testify in the sexual assault case against former Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales.
Rubiales is named in a lawsuit brought by Spanish state prosecutors, alleging sexual assault and coercion after he kissed Hermoso on the lips without her consent following the 2023 World Cup final. They also say that he tried to convince Hermoso and her relatives to downplay the kiss publicly.
Hermoso’s testimony happened behind closed doors, with Spanish media saying that the forward asked that the appearance be kept as private as possible. She was expected to reiterate to the court that the kiss was unwanted and that both Rubiales and his staff tried to pressure both her and her family into downplaying the incident.
The judge is also hearing testimony from other World Cup-winning players, coaches and federation officials, before deciding whether to take the case to trial. Rubiales has previously denied wrongdoing to the judge, who issued a restraining order against him contacting Hermoso.
Rubiales’ actions at the World Cup – which also included him grabbing his crotch in celebration and “inappropriate” conduct toward England players – sparked international outrage. While he initially refused to resign as president of the RFEF, he later issued his resignation.
FIFA suspended Rubiales for three years, with a report in December showing that the soccer governing body considered more severe sanctions. The report went on to say that the disciplinary committee was satisfied with the three year ban, only with “strong hesitations.”
According to the prosecutors’ office in Madrid, a sexual consent law passed last year could see Rubiales face a fine or a prison sentence of one to four years if found guilty.
Spain has topped the FIFA rankings for the first time, with the World Cup champions ascending to the the No. 1 spot.
Following the 2023 World Cup, Sweden topped the world rankings. But Spain followed up its World Cup win with a string of impressive performances in the Women’s Nations League to finally move into the top spot. The first-time World Cup winners are just the fourth team to ever hold the No. 1 spot after the USWNT, Germany and Sweden.
Spain took five wins in the Nations League – including two over Sweden – to qualify for the Nations League semifinals in February, when they will face the Netherlands.
The USWNT, meanwhile, is up to No. 2 in the rankings after falling to No. 3 in the aftermath of a disappointing World Cup run. France took moved into the third spot.
After missing out on the Olympics and finishing third in their Nations League group, Sweden dropped to fifth. Similarly, European champion and World Cup runner-up England – also out of the Olympics – dropped to fourth.
A record 192 nations now have been featured in the rankings, with Central African Republic and Macau appearing for the first time in the latest edition. North Korea, American Samoa, Madagascar and Bahamas have made a reappearance on the list.
Esther González always dreamt of playing in the United States. Now, she’s not only made that dream come true, but she’s also a NWSL champion.
González signed with Gotham FC after winning the 2023 World Cup with Spain. And since then, the 30-year-old forward has helped the team to its first NWSL championship, scoring the title-winning goal on a header in Saturday’s final.
She predicted the goal to Spanish outlet AS ahead of the championship game.
“Yes always,” she said in Spanish when asked if she saw herself scoring in the final. “In my head, I only want to score goals, whatever the match, in training. Of course I see myself scoring in the final. I know I’m going to have a chance, I just have to make it.”
González has settled in well to the NWSL, becoming just the second player since 2015 to score a brace in one of her first two league appearances.
She also knows that she is in a league “where I can bring out my maximum potential,” and following the game she told Marta Griñan of AS that the level of competition in the NWSL is much higher than in La Liga.
“One of the biggest differences with the Spanish league, which is a great league, is that here (in the NWSL) all the games, absolutely all of them, are like a Champions League game at the highest level,” she said. “In Spain, there are some games that you can win four or five to zero, that your physical wear and tear is normal, that you have everything under control.
“Here every game is like playing against Barça, which is the best team in the Spanish League: Your level has to be the maximum, your physical demand is the maximum, and that happens weekend after weekend.”
Aitana Bonmatí won the 2023 Ballon d’Or after leading Spain to its first-ever Women’s World Cup title.
The 25-year-old midfielder took home the Golden Ball award at this summer’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand. She also won the 2022-23 player of the year awards from UEFA and the Champions League, and she won the Liga F, Champions League and Supercopa titles with FC Barcelona.
Her Barcelona teammate, 19-year-old forward Salma Paralluelo, finished third in the Ballon d’Or voting. So it came as no surprise that the Spanish club, which had six of the 30 total nominees, won Women’s Team of the Year.
Australia striker Sam Kerr finished as runner-up to Bonmatí. Sophia Smith, the reigning NWSL MVP and one U.S. player among the nominees, ranked 25th overall.
Bonmati’s win makes three in a row for Spain. Alexia Putellas won the 2021 and 2022 awards but missed most of the 2022-23 season with an ACL tear.
USWNT forward Megan Rapinoe won in 2019, while her teammate Alex Morgan placed third. No other USWNT players have finished in the top three since the Ballon d’Or Féminin first was awarded in 2018.
A number of prominent women’s players were unable to attend Monday’s ceremony in Paris, which was held during the FIFA women’s international window. Georgia Stanway, one of four England players nominated for the Ballon d’Or, called out the scheduling.
“It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t be there,” Stanway said. “We spoke about it as a group and said it would be nice in the future if the ceremony wasn’t on a matchday minus one day so we can all enjoy the experience. … If it was planned a little better, then it would be easier for a lot of female footballers to be there.”
Former Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales has been banned from all activities related to the sport for three years, FIFA announced Monday.
The ban comes after Rubiales’ nonconsensual kiss of star midfielder Jenni Hermoso at the 2023 World Cup final. He also threw another Spanish player over his shoulder and was seen grabbing his crotch during Spain’s 1-0 win over England, and his behavior resulted in multiple investigations into his conduct.
While Rubiales initially refused calls to resign, he stepped down on Sept. 10, though he remained defiant in the face of the backlash against him. His decision to resign came after he received a provisional suspension from FIFA, the Spanish government attempted to have him removed and Hermoso filed a criminal complaint against him.
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has banned Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Association (RFEF), from all football-related activities at national and international levels for three years, having found that he acted in breach of article 13 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code,” FIFA said in a statement Monday. “This case relates to the events that occurred during the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup on 20 August 2023, for which Mr Rubiales had been provisionally suspended for an initial period of 90 days.
“Mr Rubiales has been notified of the terms of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision today. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, he has ten days in which to request a motivated decision, which, if requested, would subsequently be published on legal.fifa.com. The decision remains subject to a possible appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee.
“FIFA reiterates its absolute commitment to respecting and protecting the integrity of all people and ensuring that the basic rules of decent conduct are upheld.”
While Rubiales has maintained his innocence, saying the kiss was consensual, Spanish prosecutors have charged him with sexual assault and coercion. They also say Rubiales attempted to put pressure on both Hermoso and her family to say that the kiss was consensual.
Hermoso has maintained that the kiss was not consensual, saying she felt “disrespected” and was left unprotected “as an employee of the federation.”
The 33-year-old midfielder returned to the national team last week for the first time since the World Cup final, scoring the game-winning goal in Spain’s 1-0 Nations League victory over Italy.
Taylor Swift made headlines Sunday when she cheered on Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. But this is far from her first foray into sports.
The 12-time Grammy-winning superstar is a well-established fan and friend of the U.S. women’s national team, in particular veteran forward Alex Morgan. She hosted the 2015 World Cup-winning team on stage at her 1989 World Tour, and she announced Morgan’s place on the 2023 World Cup roster.
So in honor of Swift’s continued world domination, Just Women’s Sports has paired her albums with women’s soccer kits from the 2023 World Cup, the Women’s Super League and the NWSL.
Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
Australian superstar Sam Kerr and the Matildas’ bright World Cup kits drag us headfirst into the rankings. Does it get better than this?
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
World Cup champion Spain enchanted the crowd at the 2023 tournament with these coral reef-inspired kits.
Red (Taylor’s Version)
Arsenal crashed out of the Women’s Champions League in the qualifying round. Yet despite their run ending so suddenly, they have the whole Women’s Super League season ahead in their classic red kits. So: Begin again?
1989 (Taylor’s Version)
England isn’t out of the woods yet. Despite winning the 2022 Euro title, the Lionesses are still seeking their first World Cup championship after falling to Spain in the 2023 final. But their light blue kits for the tournament will never go out of style.
Reputation
Are you ready for it? This is the only album on the list not owned by Swift, who is in the process of re-recording her first six albums so she has control of her music. But pairing the edgy “Reputation” with the Thorns’ tattoo-inspired 2023 jerseys proved too tempting to pass up.
Lover
USWNT midfielder Sam Mewis is in her Lover era, she shared on the “Snacks” podcast in April. Don’t roll your eyes, but Angel City FC are in their Lover era too with their 2022 pink-accented kits.
Folklore
The Football Ferns’ World Cup kits pull from nature, as does Swift’s woodsy “folklore.” While July and August slipped away like a bottle of wine, the memories of the tournament Down Under (and of New Zealand’s first-ever World Cup win) will stick with us.
Evermore
Swift has spoken about the autumnal vibes of “evermore,” and while there are no flannels to be found on the soccer field, the Netherlands’ signature orange kits bring to mind the colors of the season.
Midnights
The USWNT did not have the 2023 World Cup run they wanted, but they still looked bejeweled in these Nike kits. Ahead of the tournament, Morgan attended Swift’s record-setting Eras Tour, which features “Midnights” tracks as its grand finale, and she had high praise for her uber-famous friend.
“She is so supportive,” Morgan said. “She’s all about women empowerment. We both share our favorite number, number 13, born the same year, in 1989. We’ve just been really supportive of each other’s careers.”