Paris 2024

Olympic women’s soccer final: A golden farewell for Brazil’s Marta or ideal start for USA manager Hayes?

Brazil and USA look forward to final as fatigue and injuries raise questions about tournament format

Brzail's Marta was distraught after being sent off during the women's group C match between Brazil and Spain. Photograph: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images
Sophie Downey
Wed Aug 07 2024 - 21:39

“It’s wanting more. It’s training more. It’s taking care of yourself more. It’s being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls. There’s not going to be a Formiga forever. There’s not going to be a Marta forever. There’s not going to be a Cristiane. The women’s game depends on you to survive. Think about that. Value it more. Cry in the beginning so you can smile in the end.”

In June 2019 Marta, Brazil’s captain and all-round trailblazer, stood distraught on the side of a pitch in Le Havre. As the cameras came to her after Brazil had again fallen early on the world stage – beaten in extra time by the hosts France in the last 16 of the World Cup – she launched into an impassioned speech to her country’s next generation that drew worldwide traction.

Five years later and about 800km south, the cameras panned to Marta once more. This time, these were tears of joy as she witnessed her nation’s new generation battle against the odds to reach their first major final since 2008. With their captain forced to watch from the stands, Brazil outplayed and outmuscled Spain, beating the world champions 4-2 to set up an Olympic final with the USA in Paris.

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Seven days earlier it had looked as if Marta’s dazzling international career had come to a heartbreaking end at 201 caps. Deep into first-half injury-time against Spain in their group stage meeting, she received a straight red card for a high challenge against Olga Carmona. It was a clear dismissal and the realisation that it could have been her last contribution on the international stage swept over the Brazilian’s distraught face almost in slow motion.

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Sophia Smith (centre) found a burst of pace to score the USA's winner against Germany in extra-time. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images

Marta, however, has a team of players behind her to rely on now. In her absence and despite significant injury problems, they have paved their way to the gold medal match. It has not always been pretty for Arthur Elias’s side at this tournament. After two defeats in the group stage, by Spain and Japan, they scraped through as the second best third-placed side. But they have grown in confidence since, beating France and Spain to ensure their captain can return one last time and guaranteed at least a silver medal.

Brazil impressed in the semi-final, outplaying a team who were many people’s favourites to win the tournament. Despite being injury-ravaged and tired – like every team in this competition – Brazil could and should have inflicted a heavier defeat on opponents who were all over the place defensively.

Backing up a World Cup win with an Olympic gold is notoriously difficult – it has never been achieved. Spain looked weary and fragile, a sign that the gruelling nature of this tournament and the amount of football they have played over the past two years is starting to have an effect.

Champions can only rescue wins for so long and there have been warning signs that Montse Tomé's side have not been at their peak for a while. Defeats by Italy and the Czech Republic in the past 12 months have been masked by Nations League success and Euro 2025 qualification but indicated there could be a gap in the seemingly indestructible armour.

USA coach Emma Hayes has only been in the job two months. Photograph: Pascal Guyot/Getty

This Olympic competition has been a real trudge to the finish line. A gruelling schedule has brought teams a match every three days, and four of the six knock-out games went to extra-time. Brazil and the USA have made it through via sheer willpower as much as anything, finding an ability to dig deeper into their energy reserves than their opponents.

Former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes has guided the USA to a first major final since they won in France in 2019, a remarkable feat for a manager who has been in the job for two months, but they have been dragging themselves through the exhaustion. After Sophia Smith found a burst of pace to score their winner against Germany in extra-time, she dropped to her knees and she admitted to the media she was too tired to celebrate.

The visible fatigue and growing list of casualties have raised questions once more about how the Olympic tournament should look. The answer could be significant change or little tweaks to the format. Larger playing squads (the limit of 18 plus four alternates is unfit for purpose) and having knock-out matches go straight to penalties are alterations that could ease the pressure and risk of injury.

For now, however, the focus is on the finish line in Paris on Saturday. Fairy tales rarely happen in football, but in this encounter there is a chance for two perfect scripts to be written. Will it be the golden farewell of one of the greatest players the women’s game has seen? Or the ideal start for a manager at the beginning of her journey in international football? – Guardian