The dust has settled for the Paris Olympics 2024. If one had to rate the best team of the tournament, then the obvious pick of many would be USWNT, having clinched their historic fifth gold. However, individual brilliance from players across other teams often goes unnoticed in the shadow of such collective triumphs. This led Sam Mewis to create her very own Best XI from the summer games, which saw only six American stars and had notable absences like Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle.

The idea was curated on the latest episode of her own podcast, The Women’s Game. Mewis forbade herself from picking the entire USWNT team or just 11 Lynn Williams as her Team of the Tournament and purely made choices unbiasedly. Starting with the player to guard the sticks, she picked Alyssa Naeher.

The USWNT No. 1 was the numero uno pick in Mewis’ dictionary, who conceded just two goals throughout the Olympic campaign, especially making four crucial saves in the final to maintain the narrow lead of her side against Brazil. Mewis also insisted that the Olympics “could have gone very differently had it not been Alyssa in goal.”

Next up was “The best defender” that Emma Hayes ever saw, a.k.a Naomi Girma. We hope you don’t need the reasons for the selection of the San Diego Wave star. Likewise, another defender in the team was Crystal Dunn, who made the left-back spot for her extra contribution to the attack. However, it certainly wasn’t an easy pick for Mewis as she found it quite hard to sacrifice Emily Fox.  

Mallory Swanson was the obvious name to make it into the team, thanks to her 4 goals and 2 assists. The Chicago Red Stars forward was in a ‘sharp‘ form for the USWNT throughout the tournament. “I would have just been smooching her little head and saying thank you for the gold medal. Mal 100 % deserves a spot on this team of the tournament and is even arguably MVP,” remarked Mewis.

We all know where this is going but yes, Sophia Smith is the fifth USWNT star in the Best XI team. The Portland Thorns forward shined with 3 goals and 2 assists, and Mewis highlighted Smith’s remarkable growth throughout the tournament. She noted that the 24-year-old successfully adapted to a different role for the national team, one that differed from her usual position with her club.

The sixth and final US player is, yes you guessed it right, Trinity Rodman, completing the ‘Triforce.’ The Washington Spirit forward’s performance ‘matched and exceeded’ everyone’s expectations notching three goals of her own. In fact, Mewis was truly in awe of the USWNT’s new trio: “Our forwards were just so clutch and I find it so interesting that they really shared that burden of being the clutch goal scorer. The success was so spread out across the three of them.”

So far, Mewis’ picks are undebatable. However, it’s the remaining five players that she picked from other countries. That too, was at the cost of ignoring many big names.

Which rival star players replaced USWNT stars in Sam Mewis’ Paris Olympics Best XI?

The first name that replaced Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle was Germany midfielder Jule Brand. She scored a goal against Australia and even posed trouble against the USWNT in the semifinals. The next was Ludmila, who despite the fact, played as a wing-back and forward for Brazil, was surprisingly given a midfield spot. Mewis explained that it’s the versatility of the player that saw the Brazilian get into the midfield.

Meanwhile, the fourth attacker alongside the ‘Triple Espresso’ was French forward Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who scored five goals. Additionally, Germany’s Guilia Gwinn made it as right back. She notched 2 assists and 2 goals in the Summer Games, with Mewis also mentioning the dangerous setpieces of the defender. Completing the backline was Brazil defender Tarciane, paired alongside Girma as the USWNT icon labeled her a ‘solid‘ player in Marta and Co.’s defense.

Special mentions*: Brazil goalkeeper Lena and Zambia forward Barbara Banda, who scored four goals in three games, were the names that Mewis wanted to feature but couldn’t.

Sam Mewis’ Paris Olympics 2024 Team of the tournament (4-2-4)

GK: Alyssa Naeher

DF: Guilia Gwinn, Naomi Girma, Tarciane, and Crystal Dunn

MD: Jule Brand and Ludmila

FW: Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman, and Marie-Antoinette Katoto

What are your thoughts on Sam Mewis’ best XI from the Paris Olympics? Let us know in the comments.