Emma Hayes' USWNT has a huge future after unexpected Olympic gold: Winners and losers from Paris 2024 as Mallory Swanson's incredible comeback takes center stage amid concerns for Spain, France and Australia
GOALIt was a tournament to remember for the U.S., Marta's Brazil and bronze medallist Germany – but concerns arose for plenty of others, not least Canada
When the dust settles on the 2024 Olympic women's football tournament, it will surely go down as one to remember. That will be both for the right reasons, such as the unexpectedness of the United States women's national team's quick success under Emma Hayes and the near-fairytale farewell of Brazil icon Marta, and for the wrong reasons, with the drone scandal surrounding Canada Soccer certainly the big story there.
Despite the relentless schedule and gorgeous, but exhausting, sunshine in France, it was a tournament that entertained and threw up plenty of memorable matches, with Australia's ridiculous 6-5 win over Zambia unlikely to be forgotten quickly and Brazil's 4-2 victory over Spain surely the biggest shock of them all.
And among it all were the incredible individual stories: the rollercoaster of emotions that Marta went through as she represented her nation at a major tournament for the final time and the heart-warming comeback of Mallory Swanson, who was the USWNT's match-winner in Paris after enduring injury hell in 2023.
GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from Paris 2024…
