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News

Sophia Smith was offside for the USWNT’s goal vs. Brazil, here’s why the goal still stood

By David Moore August 10, 2024
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USWNT win gold for the first time in 12 years!
Getty Images

We’ve waited a dozen years to hear it, but at last the United States women’s national team are Olympic gold medalists! The USWNT defeated Brazil 1-0 in the final in Paris on Saturday to win gold for the fifth time.

One year after the worst World Cup in the USWNT’s history, they’ve bounced back to claim the gold medal that eluded them for over a decade.

The gold-medal moment came from Mallory Swanson in the 57th minute. Korbin Albert slipped a pass through that appeared to be intended for Sophia Smith who was in an offside position, however Smith didn’t touch the ball and Swanson went on to finish.

Mallory Swanson goal vs Brazil

So, why was offside not called here you might ask? Let’s look at the laws of the game.

The International Football Association Board, known for determining and clarifying the rules, has this exact scenario from the USWNT listed.

"An attacking player in an offside position (Smith) runs toward the ball and a teammate in an onside position (Swanson) also runs toward the ball and plays it. If the first player (Smith) does not touch the ball and does not impact any opponent’s ability to play or challenge for the ball, the referee allows play to continue as the attacking team player (Smith) has not committed an offside offense."

Therefore, the decision to not call offside was correct.

That leaves another question. Did Smith know she was offside and purposely leave it for Swanson? If that’s the case, then that might be one of the smartest plays ever. 9000 IQ from the birthday girl as Smith celebrated her 24th birthday on Saturday.

Brazil pushed the USWNT to their limit with a blistering first half that saw the Americans frustrated and Alyssa Naeher called into action several times. Naeher denied Gabi Portilho from close range with a brilliant save near halftime.

The USWNT had an earlier scare in the first half as star defender Naomi Girma was uncharacteristically beaten by Ludmila who then put the ball in the back of the net. Thankfully for the USA the offside flag was there to save them.

In the second half head coach Emma Hayes had her side come out with a renewed energy and took the game to Brazil with several threatening attacks. Ultimately it was Swanson who got the game-winner.

This was Swanson’s fourth goal of the Olympic tournament and one she’ll never forget. Saturday’s game was Swanson’s 100th appearance for the USWNT.

In the final minutes Naeher pulled off one last piece of magic to secure the gold.

What a moment for the USWNT. Drink it in.

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