USWNT handed Paris Olympics reward for thrashing Germany in women's soccer blowout

The United States women's national team has been given a day and a half off of training to explore Paris and rest as a reward for exemplary work before facing Australia in its next Olympics soccer matchup.

On Sunday night, the United States secured a 4-1 win over Germany thanks to two goals from Sophia Smith as well as strikes from both Mallory Swanson - her third goal in two Olympic matches - and substitute Lynn Williams. Team USA, which also received a strong performance from Trinity Rodman , has now qualified for the quarterfinals of the Paris 2024 Games with back-to-back wins.

USWNT manager Emma Hayes was pleased with the performance - though she did add a motivational dig to her post-match comments . The offense was much improved, which is why Hayes decided to give the team some time off ahead of their final group game.

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“I think we were absolutely devastating when we needed to be,” Hayes said following the victory over Germany. “Biggest negative? Some poor decision-making that led to Germany having more chances than it might have deserved, with goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher bailing out her teammates after some critical turnovers.

“I thought that we were our biggest problem. There's still things that irritate me about us, but that's for me to fix.”

Hayes, who is six games into her tenure after leaving Chelsea, added that her biggest concern is the emotional recovery that's required in a compressed tournament like this one. She also expressed concern over the knee injury suffered by Tierna Davidson, who is set to be evaluated again on Monday. Nonetheless, Hayes insisted her team deserved some time off before returning to the practice field. She added: “Can you imagine the adrenaline? You get so high, the comedown is like any hangover.”

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The USWNT is into the quarter-finals of Hayes' first major tournament in charge. While there is still a learning curve as she instills a new identity into the team, Hayes was pleased with Sunday’s performance as the USA led 3-1 at halftime before Williams added the fourth in the late stages.

“There were times where we had to weather a storm,” Williams said. “And I think that that's really cool about this team - nobody looks frightened in those moments. It's just, okay, what do we need to do? It's just more of a belief that no matter what somebody throws at us, we're going to get the job done.”

The USWNT plays its final Group B match against Australia on Wednesday. The Americans will seal a first-place finish with a draw or a win.