NEW YORK — The Paris Olympics will give the U.S. women's soccer team a chance to begin a new chapter, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher said on Wednesday, as the four time gold medallists look to regain their supremacy on the global stage.
The United States slipped to an all-time low fifth on the FIFA rankings last month after their worst Women's World Cup showing in 2023, when they exited in the round of 16.
They hope to reverse course in Paris, with new coach Emma Hayes at the helm after winning her seventh Women's Super League crown with Chelsea, and get back to the top of the podium for the first time since 2012.
"We've talked to this whole year about looking towards the future and turning the page and having this new identity and moving forward," Naeher told reporters.
"This is the start of that."
The United States will play warm-up matches against Mexico on Saturday and against Costa Rica on Tuesday, before opening their Olympic campaign against Zambia on July 25, in a competitive Group B that also features Germany and Australia.
Naeher, who helped the United States to bronze in Tokyo, said that fans can expect a team hungry for the challenge.
"With Emma in here and the full new staff and the roster being set, I think now this is the opportunity to officially kind of move in that forward direction. And this is the first tournament for that," she said. "You can feel the energy."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, Editing by Toby Davis)
