The Paris 2024 Olympics featured the best women’s soccer players in the world, and their contributions on the pitch earned them a spot in our Team of the Tournament.
Less than one month ago, 12 teams arrived in France with the hopes of winning the gold medal in women’s soccer at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Powerhouses like the United States, Spain, and France entered the tournament as the favorites while Brazil, Germany, and Japan were marked as dark horses.
The competition unfolded with plenty of highlight reel-worthy moments, including epic saves, shocking red cards, and of course, plenty of goals. Although only one team could walk away as Olympic champions, players from several different nations left their mark in France.
Here’s 90min’s Paris 2024 Olympics Team of the Tournament.
GK: Lorena – Brazil/Gremio
No player was more impactful between the posts for their team than Lorena. The goalkeeper might not have as many clean sheets as the USA’s Alyssa Naeher, but she kept her side in every game they played with heroic efforts. The Brazilian saved a penalty against Japan and France, and then absolutely stood on her head against Spain in the semi-finals.
Lorena had more to do at the back than any other keeper in the tournament, and came up huge every single time.
DF: Ona Battle – Spain/Barcelona
Battle was the best defender for La Roja at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The right-back played every second for Spain this summer and excelled even when her fellow defenders came up short. The 25-year-old created chance after chance for her side, including the most of any player in the bronze medal match, and still managed to always do her job at the back.
DF: Naomi Girma – United States/San Diego Wave
Naomi Girma was the best center-back at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The defender was a brick wall at the back, and even when her partner, Tierna Davidson, went down with an injury, Girma still delivered and helped her side keep two clean sheets in the knockout stage to send her team to the gold medal match.
DF: Vanessa Gilles – Canada/Lyon
Canada’s gold medal defense was riddled with controversy this summer, but Vanessa Gilles did everything she could to give her team a fighting chance after their six point deduction in the group stage. Under her leadership, the Reds only conceded two goals in four matches, and kept two clean sheets in their two must-win matches.
Gilles also scored the winners against France and Colombia to send her team to the knockout stage.
DF: Emily Fox – United States/Arsenal
Emily Fox was an integral part of the USA’s exceptional backline this summer. Even with a minor knee injury, the right-back started every game and played the full 120 minutes in the semi-finals to preserve the Stars and Stripes’ 1-0 lead against Germany. The 26-year-old’s accurate passing and dominance on the right flank cannot be ignored, especially with how well she shut down her opponent’s best players.
MF: Adriana Leal – Brazil/Orlando Pride
Adriana’s impact in the absence of Marta was second to none for Brazil. The 27-year-old stepped up when her team needed her the most, assisting the winning goal in the quarter-finals against France and then scoring the winner against Spain in the semi-finals.
She might have less minutes than most of the other starting midfielders in the tournament, but she certainly has two of the best, most important moments for a team at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
MF: Aitana Bonmati – Spain/Barcelona
Spain saw their hopes for their first ever Olympic medal in women’s soccer crushed after defeats to Brazil and Germany in their final two fixtures in France. As always, though, Aitana Bonmati showed her quality in the midfield as she out-classed the players around her to push forward and create goalscoring opportunities for her teammates.
She only managed to score one goal in France this summer, but anyone who watched the reigning Ballon d’Or winner play saw just how great she is, even when her team was not.
MF: Klara Buhl – Germany/Bayern Munich
Germany would not have made such a deep run at the Paris 2024 Olympics without Klara Buhl’s play in the midfield. The 23-year-old only scored one goal for her side this summer, but she more than made up for it with her service in the final third. In fact, she would undoubtedly have more impressive statistics if her teammates could find the end product in the final third.
Still, Buhl was one of the most consistent, reliable midfielders in the entire competition.
FW: Trinity Rodman
Ever since Emma Hayes took over the USWNT, Trinity Rodman’s game reached new heights. After failing to score in the first half of 2024, the forward found the back of the net in her Olympics debut and scored the winner against Japan to send her team to the semi-finals. She is the heart of the USA’s attack and their most creative player up top, always looking for the breakthrough against a low block to find Sophia Smith or Mallory Swanson.
FW: Marie-Antoinette Katoto – France/PSG
Marie-Antoinette Katoto struggled to make a difference in the quarter-finals against Brazil, but her dominance in the group stage still must be celebrated. The striker scored five goals in France’s opening three matches, including the winners against Colombia and New Zealand. Without the 25-year-old up top, Les Bleues might not have even made it to the knockout stage.
FW: Sophia Smith
Sophia Smith proved she is a prolific goalscorer this summer in France. A lot of pressure was put on the 23-year-old’s shoulders after the USWNT failed to score in their final Olympics warm-up match, and the forward rose to the occasion when her team needed her the most. Smith scored the winner against Germany to send the Stars and Stripes to their first gold medal match since 2012.
