370 days—the exact number of days it took the US Women’s National Team to go from zero to hero. Rising from the depths of despair after an unfortunate Round of 16 exit in the 2023 World Cup, they finally claimed gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics—almost a year later. While some might argue it was quite a stretch for the American women to regain their footing under Emma Hayes, Naomi Girma thinks otherwise.

“I think it felt like it came very quickly,” began the San Diego Waves defender during the conversation with Sam Mewis on The Women’s Game podcast, sharing how it was difficult for the team to quickly get their mind off a stomping defeat to the Summer Games preparation. Not to mention that during that period, the team underwent significant changes and experienced a lot of learning and adjustments.

Girma emphasized that from the very beginning, they all committed to fully buying in, as there wasn’t enough time to gradually ease into the transition. “It just had to be a full go. We kind of have to lean into this so just leaning in, learning, and trying to get better as a team really made the transition smoother, helped us attack the tournament I guess, and not feel like we were just rebounding from the World Cup,” added the 24-year-old.

Girma expressed that the team approached the tournament with a mindset of, “This is our chance to make a mark as a new team and show the world who we are.” She noted that this mentality helped them enter the competition without the fear of falling short or not meeting expectations. “We just left all that at the door and we’re like ‘We’re here and we’re going to do our best,’ and yeah it worked out,” concluded Girma.

Impressive as it may sound, it surely wasn’t an easy task for the ladies to get over the World Cup heartbreak and pave their way to greatness in the Summer Games. While everything eventually worked out in favor of the USWNT, little does Girma believe there’s much more to achieve under Hayes!

Naomi Girma wants USWNT to achieve their untapped ‘potential’ under Emma Hayes

Thanks to their achievement in Paris, Naomi Girma is more than confident for her side to take even the slightest opportunity there is to improve and get better. “I think it’s really exciting like specifically for this group like, we haven’t been playing under Emma for that long. There is so much more for us to learn. There is so much more ways our game can evolve. So it’s just exciting that you know that potential is there,” she said in an interview earlier.

Winning surely didn’t stop for the Stars and Stripes ft ladies as they also ended their October victory tour on a high note. Aside from winning the doubleheader against Iceland with a similar 3-1 score, Emma Hayes and Co. secured another 3-0 win over Argentina. If it remains the same for the USWNT in the following years then who knows, they may be considered unstoppable in taking their redemption in the next World Cup.