LYON, France — Nobody enters a tournament hoping to come third. But for Germany and Sweden, competing in that infamous match at the 2024 women’s Olympic soccer tournament does have something big on the line: the chance to win a bronze medal.
In the seven Olympics tournaments to feature a women’s football competition since 1996, only four nations (the United States, Norway, Germany, and Canada) have ever won gold — though Brazil have an opportunity to add their name to the list when they face the USWNT on Saturday. Looked at another way, a chance to get on the podium to claim a prestigious medal at the second most important women’s football competition behind the World Cup doesn’t come around too often.
“I think probably my greatest-ever sporting achievement is the London 2012 bronze,” Rhian Wilkinson, a two-time bronze-medal winner with Canada, told ESPN. “I never even dreamed of winning a medal; it was such an impossibility. Becoming an Olympian was absolutely my dream but there was no way that Canada could ever win a medal and then standing there holding it and being like, ‘how is this my life?’ There’s no other sporting event — and I’ve had a few — that has come close to that moment with my sisters stood around me.”
Similarly, Canada’s Ashley Lawrence told ESPN ahead of the Games that it was watching the 2012 event at home that gave her something to aim for. “Witnessing that tournament was life-changing for myself,” she said. “It opened my eyes; it allowed me to really dream and see true examples of players, Canadian players, competing at the highest level. That tournament sparked a fire in me.”
The 2024 event on Friday saw Germany beat favourites (and world champions) Spain to the bronze, as Giulia Gwinn’s 64th minute spot-kick gave them the lead before Ann-Katrin Berger saved a stoppage-time penalty from Alexia Putellas to seal a 1-0 win. And for some the fans who had made the trip to Lyon, it felt as important as any of the biggest games in the world.
“I would say not quite as important as the World Cup, but on the other hand, it is tougher to qualify,” says Germany fan and blogger Annika. “I think it depends on whether you look at the purely sporting merit of it or take marketing and audience reach into it as well.”
The type of soccer fans who attend an Olympic game are certainly different to those at a World Cup — some are purely there for the football while others partake in the Games as a whole. For Americans Joe and Roberta, the passion is about following U.S. senior teams in all sports — they will head north to Paris for the women’s water polo bronze-medal match on Saturday instead of watching Emma Hayes’ side take on Brazil — but still wanted to get a taste of the soccer action.
“We’re trying to support women’s athletics as well as men’s,” Roberta says. “Traditionally, men’s athletics have been in the spotlight so we’re trying to support the women; it’s always about where you put your money, so if you’re willing to spend to come to another country (and these tickets were not cheap) and if you’re willing to devote your resources, it’s your form of support.”
