The U.S. women’s national team successfully hit the reset button on 2024, bouncing back from the disappointment of last year’s Women’s World Cup to winning gold at the Paris Olympics and becoming one of the strongest teams in women’s soccer.
But winning gold is just one moment in a memorable year for the world’s No. 1 team. Despite the quick transition from the World Cup to the Olympics and coach Emma Hayes’ unusually short preparation for Paris, the USWNT has achieved an ambitious rebuild that builds the foundation for the development Hayes plans for the team. 2024 marks a pivotal year for the USWNT in an increasingly competitive women’s soccer landscape, as the team has made several notable decisions to remain in good shape, especially as the long road to the 2027 World Cup begins.
Take a look back at the top five USWNT moments from 2024.
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5. Emma Hayes has finally arrived.
US Soccer officially announced Hayes’ hiring in November 2023, but responsibilities at Chelsea prevented Hayes from starting his new job until the end of May. When she finally took charge of her first training session in Colorado, it marked a happy end to a long wait and the start of an ambitious new chapter for the four-time World Cup winners.
Hayes’ arrival with just four games to prepare for the Olympics is the real genesis of the USWNT’s unlikely run to gold. Especially since she didn’t have time to tweak the player pool or tactical plan much. But the fact that she and the players were in harmony from the moment they started working together was the most impressive part of the U.S.’s victory in Paris, and is now laying a strong foundation for Hayes’ real work to begin. With the shift leading up to the Women’s World Cup in two years’ time in 2027, she can now introduce her ideas for an overall program designed to keep the United States competitive amid a flood of investment in the women’s game.
4. Fresh faces take the lead
Hayes has yet to make her full mark on the team, but the first big decision she made as USWNT head coach was to choose youth over Olympic experience. Now retired star Alex Morgan has been left at home and only four players from her Paris team have made more than 100 appearances, with eight new to major international tournaments. This decision ultimately benefited the USWNT in the short term and will likely benefit the long term, but it is also the result of a project that spanned several months.
While the USWNT waits for Hayes, interim head coach Twila Kilgore has introduced a few new faces into the mix and ensured Hayes gets valuable playing time before making a decision. Headlining the group is Jaedyn Shaw, who received her first cap under Kilgore. , but Hayes continued this trend after the Olympics. According to Opta, eight players under the age of 21 made their debuts in 2024, the most in a single year since 2002.
3. Alyssa Naeher’s penalty kick heroics
The USWNT’s year has been defined by freshmen and fresh ideas, but longtime goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher has called time on her national team career. Although she developed a reputation as a quiet, relentlessly reliable shot-stopper, Naeher brought an equal level of entertainment value to her final year with the USWNT, receiving a fitting and memorable sendoff.
In fact, Naeher’s final year featured several notable moments, including an impressive save against Germany in the Olympic semifinals. In her final game for the national team, she stood out as an elite goalkeeper in penalty shootouts, not only as a shot-stopper but also as a scorer. She became the only goalkeeper in Women’s World Cup history to score a penalty kick in 2023, but went ahead of her in the Concacaf Gold Cup semi-final against Canada in March. She not only saved three penalties but also scored a spot kick of her own.
2. Hello, this is Triple Espresso.
Kilgore and Hayes’ efforts to introduce young talent to the USWNT’s lineup led to the team’s new All-Star frontliners Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, and Mallory Swanson. It calls itself “triple espresso.”
Although they only played together for a few minutes, the trio wasted little time living up to the hype at the Olympics. The three players combined to score 10 goals in six games, scoring all but two of the team’s goals on its way to the gold medal. A strong showing in France officially put an end to the USWNT’s lackluster offensive showing at the World Cup, a tournament that Swanson missed due to injury, and ensured that the team could once again embrace the goal-scoring identity that has long defined it.
1. USWNT wins Olympic gold medal
A year of hard work and bold decisions helped the USWNT win its fifth Olympic gold medal in August and its first since 2008.
The gold medal victory brought new confidence to the United States and its player pool. Especially since the roster is mainly made up of talented players who are yet to win their first major international title. This experience not only created a new generation of champions who followed the USWNT’s streak of winners, but also revealed the most convenient truth about the USWNT. They did not fail at the World Cup, as they are now a thing of the past for the new-look women’s game. The USWNT needed some tinkering to stay competitive as the opposition got better and better.
