USWNT targets World Cup glory after taking gold

PARIS — Within minutes after winning the Olympic gold medal on Saturday, several members of the U.S. women’s national team had the same thought:

We want more.

Lindsey Horan, the USWNT captain, said she and forward Sophia Smith literally talked about what this tournament’s success might mean for the team’s future as they were waiting to step up on the medal stand after beating Brazil in the final at the Parc des Princes.

The next World Cup will take place in Brazil in 2027.

“We were just like, ‘Imagine what we can do now in the next 2½ years,'” Horan said. “We sit here knowing there’s so much more in us. … My gosh, the way this team is now, and seeing the potential for 2027 — it’s very exciting.”

New U.S. coach Emma Hayes, who was brought in after the Americans’ disappointing exit in the round of 16 in last summer’s Women’s World Cup, had a similar notion.

Despite being on the job only since June 1, Hayes sees this Olympic triumph — when the U.S. never trailed in any of its six matches — as an indicator that World Cup success is well within reach.

“Tonight we have a gold medal, but that doesn’t mean it ends there,” Hayes said. “We’re just at the beginning.”

She added: “We are so excited about our potential and so looking forward to the things we can do together.”

Bouncing back at the World Cup would be a fitting follow-up to this title, as the U.S. claimed its first gold medal since 2012.

With a new core of the USWNT developing — rooted in Naomi Girma on the back line and a front three of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Smith — it is not hard to think big when it comes to what the group might be able to accomplish.

“She’s been in for what, two months?” Horan said of Hayes. “The belief in this group, the will — all the players being coachable, everyone buying in. It’s not easy. It’s not easy for Emma, it’s not easy for us. I think this journey has been incredible. But there is so much belief in every single one of us, and I saw it in every game.”

Girma, whom Hayes called “the best defender in the world” earlier in the tournament, smiled widely when asked whether this experience has felt like a new start.

“I think with the transitions and just the energy of the group, it does feel like that,” she said. “And I think to come into this tournament and do as well as we did is obviously great, but we know it’s still a process and there’s still so much more for us. I think that’s what makes it even more exciting.”