‘Emotional’ and teary Emma Hayes enjoys Olympic gold and perfect start with Team USA, as Mallory Swanson’s winning goal makes Tom Cruise smile in tense 1-0 win
Emma Hayes was one match away from a perfect start with Team USA.
The longtime Chelsea Women manager is now an Olympics gold medal winner for the United States.
After leaving Chelsea in May to reignite the United States Women's National Team and inspire Team USA in the 2024 Summer Games, Hayes guided her new squad to a tense 1-0 win over Brazil on Saturday in the women's football final.
Huge smiles, flowing tears and a joyous celebration followed.
A teary Hayes acknowledged being "emotional" during a post-match interview on Eurosport.
Inside a packed Parc des Princes stadium, Brazil dominated the end of the first-half and should have led entering the break.
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Shot after shot swiftly approached the United States' net.
Perseverance, intensity and luck kept Team USA tied at 0-0 with one half remaining before a gold medal was awarded.
While the USA's women's and men's basketball teams were widely expected to finish first in Paris, Hayes entered the 2024 Olympics with work to do for a defining gold.
Following severe 2023 World Cup disappointment, Team USA was aiming for its fifth Olympic gold, but first in 12 years
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The United States finished with a bronze at Tokyo in 2020.
Brazil was the sharper team in the first half on Saturday, briefly taking a 1-0 lead before an early goal was erased due to offside.
As Hollywood star Tom Cruise stood and proudly applauded at the half, a tense tie almost felt like an early win for Team USA.
"We want to play quickly!" shouted Hayes, as she attempted to ignite the USA in the second-half.
Minutes later, Mallory Swanson broke through and attacked the right corner of the net for a 1-0 USA lead at the 57-minute mark, leading to Cruise applauding again and "USA, USA, USA" chants echoing in the stadium.
Hayes spent 12 years at Chelsea, winning seven Women's Super League titles.
On Saturday, she won gold with the USA barely two months into a new job - and it took a brilliant one-handed save by goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher in the final minutes to secure Paris glory.