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The gold medal matchup for the 2024 Paris Olympics is set: The United States will face Brazil in the Olympic final on Saturday in Paris. The USWNT defeated Germany 1-0 off the heroics of Sophia Smith and Alyssa Naeher, while Brazil knocked off Spain, the reigning World Cup Champions, with a dominant 4-2 win to earn its spot in the final.
This will be the third time the United States and Brazil have met in the Olympic gold medal final. The two teams played for gold in 2004 and 2008, with the U.S. taking the victory in both games.
Like the U.S. and Germany, Brazil and Spain played each other in the group stage just last week. Spain won that game 2-0, making it so that Brazil nearly did not advance to the knockout stage, but fell to Brazil on Tuesday.
Brazil got to an early lead, after a clearance from Spanish keeper Cata Coll bounced off captain Irene Pardes in the sixth minute. Brazil then solidified the lead just before halftime, with a goal from Gabi Portilho off a beautiful assist from Yasmin.
Brazil continued to press against Spain in the second half, taking advantage of Spain’s mistakes. After several shots and amid chaos in the box, Brazilian captain Adriana scored on the follow-through to make it 3-0.
Spain’s Salma Paralluelo then scored a lifeline for Spain in the 85th minute. Spain nearly added more points, but Brazilian keeper Lorena made a handful of incredible saves as the clock ticked towards stoppage time. Brazil took advantage of yet another mistake to get another goal, with Kerolin’s strike making it 4-1 and shocking the No. 1-ranked Spanish side. Paralluelo scored another late in stoppage time, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap.
In terms of outlook, the gold medal match is likely to be a tough one for the USWNT. Germany played very physically against the U.S. in the semifinal; Brazil is expected to do the same. The U.S. has also played two straight games with extra time, while Brazil has not needed extra time in either of the knockout games. Hopefully, that advantage will be evened out by a few extra days of rest for both teams.
The last meeting between the two teams was at the CONCACAF W Gold Cup Final, where the United States won 1-0 off a Lindsey Horan goal to earn the inaugural Gold Cup title.
Importantly, Brazilian veteran Marta — an all-around icon of the women’s game — will be back on Saturday, in what is likely her last major international game. Marta, who is retiring from international play this year, served out a two-game suspension from a straight red in the final group stage game against Spain.
It would have been a brutal note to go out on, but after Brazil’s performance throughout the knockout stage, Marta will return in time to win an Olympic medal — her third, as she has previous silver medals from the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Spain, meanwhile, will play Germany for a bronze medal on Friday.
