USWNT vs. Brazil final score, results: Mallory Swanson, Alyssa Naeher shine as Americans take home gold medal

What a difference a half can make.

The U.S. women's national team limped through a treacherous first 45 minutes, surrendering chance after chance to a lively Brazilian attack that was equal parts fashionable and functional. If not for Alyssa Naeher's brilliance, it seemed as if USWNT was destined for another underwhelming result in Olympic competition.

The second half was a different story, however.

Fueled by a slick Mallory Swanson finish and more Naeher heroics, the Americans vanquished its Brazilian counterparts, walking out 1-0 victors to take home a fifth Olympic title — and first under new head coach Emma Hayes.

Hayes was bold in the buildup to today's match, opting to swap Rose Lavelle for Korbin Albert in the midfield. Hayes' decision to give divisive captain Lindsey Horan the nod over Lavelle certainly inspired debate among the team's fanbase.

In the end, Horan played her part in the victory, setting up Swanson with a delightful through pass, who proceeded to slot past Lorena to give the Americans the lead. She wasn't the only one, either.

MORE: How Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson earned Triple Espresso nickname

The vaunted "Triple Espresso" front line of Swanson, Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman reaffirmed their status — both individually and as a unit — as some of the sport's most captivating figures. Crystal Dunn overcame a sloppy first 45' before turning on the screw and leaving countless Brazilian attackers lying in her wake in the second. And Naeher was faultless, following up her first-half masterclass with an eye-catching stop in the game's final moments to secure the American victory.

It wasn't a perfect display for USWNT, but it didn't need to be. Fueled by Hayes, Swanson, Naeher and the rest of the squad, the Americans found a way. Now, they take their place in a blaze of Olympic glory.

Given the youthful nature of this year's side, Saturday's result might be the start of something special, too.

The Sporting News followed the USA vs. Brazil gold medal match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happened.

USA OLYMPICS MEDAL COUNT: Overall table | U.S. medal tracker | Who has won gold?

USWNT vs. Brazil final score

Kickoff: 5 p.m. local (11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT)
Location: Parc des Princes (Paris, France)
Referee: Tess Olofsson

Starting lineups:

USA (4-3-3, right to left): Naeher (GK) — Fox, Girma, Davidson (Sonnett 74'), Dunn — Horan, Coffey, Albert — Rodman, Swanson (Krueger 90'), S. Smith (Williams 84').

Brazil (3-4-3, right to left): Leite (GK) — Lauren (Rafaelle 84'), Tarciane, Thais — Ludmila (Priscilla 61'), Duda Sampaio (Angelina 61'), Yaya (Ana Vitoria 50'), Jheniffer (Marta 61') — Gabi Portilho, Adriana, Leal.

USWNT vs. Brazil live updates, highlights from Olympics soccer final

End of second half: USA 1, Brazil 0

FINAL: It's the Americans who capture gold! Swanson's goal the difference as USWNT nabs its first Olympic title since 2012.

90th minute (+11): Rodman earns a free kick along the sideline. That might be enough for the Americans to secure the win.

90th minute (+8): Another confident Naeher grab as Brazil proves unable to find its mark on a cross. She's been impenetrable today.

90th minute (+6): Horan looks in a bad way after taking an elbow to the head on a bouncing ball. She's being tended to on the grass. Medical personnel are escorting her off the pitch for further examination. Looks like she wants to come back into the game, however.

90th minute (+3): Another marvelous Naeher save, this one requiring her to dive and stick out her right palm after Adriana connected well with a lofted pass.

90th minute: Adriana takes on Dunn and appears to best her along the right flank. However, her subsequent cross finds Naeher's waiting grasp. Fortunately for the Brazilians, there is some 10 minutes of stoppage time remaining.

89th minute: Marta's effort sails over the crossbar. Not many chances left the Selecao, you'd imagine.

88th minute: Adriana hacked down by Coffey. That will set up a free kick at the edge of the box, a perfect spot for the left-footed Marta.

85th minute: Lynn Williams coming on to replace Sophia Smith. Smith ends her tournament with three goals, reaffirming her status as one of the world's best players in the process.

84th minute: Albert connects with a loose ball and lashes a left-footed attempt goal-ward. It nearly finds its target, but just strays wide.

83rd minute: No, they cannot. Horan's effort is fired straight into Brazil's wall.

82nd minute: Smith coaxes Tarciane into wiping her out outside the box, setting up a free kick in dangerous position for Horan. The Americans haven't scored a direct free kick since 2022. Can they do it now?

73rd minute: Emily Sonnett readying to make an appearance as a substitute in this one. She'll replace Davidson, who has been dealing with an injury for much of the tournament.

66th minute: Another opportunity falls to the Americans, this time through Smith, who prances down the left flank before cutting inside and firing an effort towards the cage. However, her attempt was tame, limping out of play.

64th minute: Brazil's backline is looking raged. Rodman nearly added to USWNT's lead, seeing her left-footed strike whistle wide of the cage with the net gaping. 

61st minute: A wave of Brazilian substitutes set to enter the game in the aftermath of Swanson's finish, including Marta. We'll see if the legendary Brazilian No. 10 can make the difference.

57th minute: GOAL! Swanson finds the back of the net, making a perfectly timed run before slotting past Leite to give the Americans the lead.

TEAM USA STRIKES FIRST—AND IT'S MALLORY SWANSON AGAIN!

1-0 IN THE GOLD MEDAL MATCH.#ParisOlympics | 📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/rCEQNIbR68

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 10, 2024

USA 1, Brazil 0

56th minute: Horan had a chance to hit Rodman behind the defense. However, her through ball strays far as another American opportunity goes wanting.

49th minute: Yaya comes off to raucous applause after appearing to suffer a severe injury. She'll be replaced by fellow midfielder Ana Vitoria.

45th minute: The second half begins! Americans will be hoping for a better showing this time around.

End of first half: USWNT 0, Brazil 0

45th minute (+4): Yasmin releases another sumptuous whipped effort, one which just evades Gabi Portilho at the back post.

45th minute (+1): Fabulous save by Naeher, who answers Gabi Portihlo's venomous strike with strong palms. This American defensive showing doesn't appear sustainable if you're of the American disposition.

43rd minute: USWNT's defensive frailties in the first half are best represented by the fact that Rodman — one of the side's attacking virtuosos — has been anchored to the defensive third of the pitch, supporting the likes of Fox and Girma as opposed to conjuring up spells in and around Brazil's penalty box.

40th minute: Brilliant defensive header by Emily Fox, who directs Gabi Portilho's wondrous cross elsewhere before it reaches Ludmila's head. The ease by which Portilho skipped beyond Tierna Davidson — again — has to be of concern for Hayes and her coaching staff, however.

33rd minute: The game's cooling break provides us with a respite from all the action at the Parc des Prince. The Brazilians have been by far the better team thus far, creating chances with increasing regularity. They look exceedingly dangerous when attacking defenders 1v1 on the flanks. USWNT  certainly has the attacking talent to threaten Brazil. But things aren't quite going to plan as of late.

22nd minute: Adriana collides with Crystal Dunn in the box, incurring contact from the American defender in the process. A VAR check is 

19th minute: Ludmila again causing issues, nearly latching onto the end of a delicate Gabi Portilho cross to make the net ripple. Ultimately, she wasn't able to reach the ball. But the Chicago Red Stars standout looks the most likely to get on the scoresheet at present.

16th minute: Ludmila turns Girma to shreds, placing the ball behind her before rifling a strike into the top corner of the net. However, she was a tad too early on the pass, being flagged for offsides. That's the first time Girma has looked out of depth in a 1-v-1. Concerning for Hayes' side.

10th minute: Plenty of half chances for both teams. However, precious few efforts have threatened the cage, although an impressive nutmeg and run by Rodman did result in a corner for the Americans.

3rd minute: Brazil carves up the American backline to craft the first chance of the game! Girma — the U.S.'s star defender — makes her first major error of the tournament, allowing the Selecao to get one on one with Naeher. However, Ludmila fires her effort right at Naeher.

1st minute: We are off! Today's gold medal game is live!

10 minutes to kickoff: The midfield battle could very well decide today's match. The Americans have toiled in that department thus far, with the likes of Horan not looking all that capable of linking the defense to the attack. Emma Hayes will be hoping Albert — the only non-forward to score a goal for USWNT this tournament — to muck up the middle third of the pitch and, perhaps, help push the ball forward to her more attacking teammates.

30 minutes to kickoff: Saturday's duel represents the 100th cap in Mallory Swanson's glittering international career. She's bagged 37 scores in her first 99 caps. She has some distance to go to make a play for Abby Wambach's program record of 184 strikes. But a strong showing today could add to an already trophy-laden closet.

45 minutes to kickoff: Both sides' starting lineups have been revealed. The Americans make one swap, replacing Rose Lavelle with Korbin Albert in a curious move. Lavelle is rumored to be carrying a knock, so her placement on the bench isn't too surprising. However, captain Lindsay Horan has been the subject of much criticism thus far by the USWNT fanbase, so a decision to keep her in over Lavelle is certain to rile up some quarters of social media.

The Selecao, meanwhile, opt for two changes to the side that vanquished Spain earlier in the week, giving the nod to Orlando Pride forward Adriana and Corinthians midfielder Duda Sampaio over Angelina and Priscila. Marta will take a spot on the bench to start Saturday's contest.

2 hours to kickoff: The attacking trio of Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman, and Mallory Swanson have exploded to life at the Olympics this summer. After flopping at last summer's World Cup, the USWNT has been revitalized under Emma Hayes, as each of the three forwards have scored three goals at the tournament to this point, accounting for nine of the team's 11 total goals in the tournament.

Many fans, broadcasters, and journalists have taken to calling the trio "The Trident," with Jon Champion's call of Smith's semifinal winner claiming Germany were "speared" by the extra-time goal. However, the three players would like to request a name change, as they went on the Today Show to propose the nickname "Triple Espresso." We'll see if it sticks!

Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith & Trinity Rodman from @teamusa @USWNT have announced they have a name for themselves ☕☕☕ pic.twitter.com/JifIQ6PFC1

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) August 8, 2024

USWNT vs. Brazil kickoff time

This Olympic women's soccer gold medal match kicks off from Parc des Princes on Saturday, August 10, at 5 p.m. local time in Paris, France.

Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories around the globe:

USWNT vs. Brazil lineups, team news, starting 11

The United States women have all their injured players back to full fitness. Tierna Davidson and Jaedyn Shaw are both back to match availability after missing games previously in the competition, while Emily Fox shook off a late scare in the quarterfinals to start the semifinal victory.

Emma Hayes has leaned extremely heavily on her starters this whole competition, only dipping to the bench when absolutely necessary, but there is one potentially bold change that could throw USWNT fans for a loop. It's highly unlikely yet still conceivable that Hayes could bench captain Lindsey Horan, who has been largely poor throughout this tournament and was hauled off in extra-time of the semifinal against Germany. If she does make that leap, Korbin Albert would be the likely addition to the midfield.

USA projected starting lineup (4-3-3): Naeher (GK) — Fox, Girma, Davidson, Dunn — Horan, Coffey, Lavelle — Rodman, Swanson, S. Smith.

USA subs (7): (Lineups released one hour prior to kickoff)

Marta is a legend of not only the Brazil women's team but the sport in general, but there's a real question for head coach Arthur Elias about whether to start the 38-year-old. She will return from her two-match red card suspension, but her replacement Gabi Portilho scored in both knockout games Marta missed, and she could have done enough to earn a third start, leaving Marta on the bench.

What to do with Marta is far from the only point of debate for Elias in the final, especially up front. Kerolin is a star in her own right, but Jheniffer was preferred in the semifinal instead, leaving the former to enter off the bench and score the clinching goal. Duda Sampaio, Adriana Leal, Gabriela, and Ana Vitoria all came off the bench against Spain but have started at least one previous match in this Olympic tournament.

Brazil projected starting lineup (3-4-3): Leite (GK) — Ferreira, Lauren, Tarciane — Ludmila, Angelina, Yaya, Ribeiro — Kerolin, Portilho, Leal.

Brazil subs (7): (Lineups released one hour prior to kickoff)

USWNT vs. Brazil live stream, TV channel

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