USWNT’s Opponents for 2024 Paris Olympics Revealed After Tournament Draw

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerFeatured Columnist IVMarch 20, 2024

Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF

The United States women’s national team now knows part of its path to a first Olympic gold medal since 2012.

The U.S. was drawn against Germany, Australia and one of Zambia or Morocco in Group B for the women’s football tournament in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Germany is fifth in the FIFA Women’s Ranking, one spot behind the United States. Australia is ranked 12th in the world with Zambia and Morocco sitting at 65th and 58th respectively.

The USWNT is coming off a victory in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup. It edged out Canada on penalties in the semifinal before Lindsey Horan’s goal was enough to lift the Americans above Brazil in the final.

It was a positive sign amid a wider transition for the United States following its worst-ever showing in the Women’s World Cup. Ever since the World Cup, the team has been in a holding pattern as it awaits the arrival of head coach Emma Hayes.

The hiring of Hayes sent shockwaves across the sport because she’s widely considered one of the best coaches in the world. She has guided Chelsea to six FA Women’s Super League titles and a seventh could be incoming this year.

Because she’s finishing out the 2023-24 season with the Blues, Hayes hasn’t officially taken her post. The Summer Olympics is her first major tournament in the role.

Fans will be curious to see how much Hayes builds on the tactics interim coach Twila Kilgore has been utilizing and the extent to which she puts her own stamp on the team so early into her tenure.

With that in mind, judging the Olympics solely on whether the USWNT earns gold elides how this period is about building a long-term foundation rather than chasing short-term success.

It’s not as though U.S. Soccer tore everything down and started from scratch in the wake of the World Cup failure. Horan, Alex Morgan, Alyssa Naeher, Crystal Dunn and Becky Sauerbrunn all have 100-plus caps and represented the U.S. in the Gold Cup.

However, the starting lineup against Brazil included three players (Naomi Girma, Korbin Albert and Trinity Rodman) who are 23 or younger. Nineteen-year-old Jadeyn Shaw and Sophia Smith, 23, also came in as substitutes.

What’s considered a disappointing showing in Paris can have a silver lining if it lays the foundation for the USWNT to claim the crown as the best in the world in 2027.