Olympic Games: How did the U.S. women’s soccer team win gold in Paris? ‘Just love’

For the first time since 2012, the U.S. women’s national team won gold at the Olympic Games. To what is the team crediting most for all of their victories this tournament?

Love, fun, and joy.

Under new head coach Emma Hayes, the USWNT has undergone a cosmic shift, a change in identity — and players — to right the ship back toward the top of the podium. After winning the Olympics, the latest FIFA women’s world rankings have the Americans again, as world No. 1.

Questions from 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup loomed large heading into this 2024 Paris Olympics, and would until the USWNT was able to quiet them themselves with nothing less than a first place win in a major international tournament.

Fair or not, that’s the pressure the USWNT lives in.

Photo by Daniela Porcelli/ISI Photos/Getty Images

It has been only five years since the USWNT won their most recent World Cup title, but the criticism that this team has endured since then has felt like many more years worth.

There is something poetic about the USA winning gold in France, the same place they stood atop the podium in the 2019 World Cup after securing back-to-back World Cup wins: The USWNT has turned the page, and players and fans are seeing a bright path ahead.

After the game, NBC Anchor Mike Tirico interviewed head coach Emma Hayes and asked her directly what she “identified to take this team from people on the outside questioning, to the top of the podium.”

Her answer: “Just love.”

Goal scorer Mallory Swanson, who scored the eventual game winner in the 1-0 triumph over Brazil echoed this sentiment when Tirico asked her a similar question.

“The one thing that we do is just have fun,” Swanson said. “I think Emma has brought that out of us. We’ve been playing with joy, and you can just see that on the field. Before the match she said ‘it’s just another soccer game with your friends’ and it was hard but at the end of the day, that’s what it is and I’m just super thankful that I was able to play with this group.”

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All hail Emma Hayes

Hayes is considered to be one of the most brilliant tactical minds in women’s soccer right now. And, while tactics absolutely played a role in the USWNT winning the entire tournament, perhaps the most important change since assuming the role was helping the players reinstate joy back into the team.

Brazil came into the gold medal game with, arguably, more fresh legs than the Americans. The USWNT played an extra 30 minutes of overtime in both their quarterfinal and semifinal games.

Beyond that, Hayes used limited substitutions throughout the tournament. On the other hand, Brazil did not have to play any overtime minutes in either their quarterfinal or semifinal, and on top of that had been using significantly more substitutions throughout the entire tournament.

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“The heart, the determination, the grit, everything about these players is so unbelievable. I’m so proud,” said Hayes told Tirico.

Tactics, of course, are the basis on which teams are built. But none of it matters if you don’t have the heart, the grit, the love, the joy… the intangibles are what bring it all to life.

The US Women’s National Team are Gold Medal winners, but perhaps more importantly had fun playing soccer with friends.

Photo by Daniela Porcelli/ISI Photos/Getty Images