Mallory Swanson shot herself into the galaxy of USWNT greats when she sent a hard strike to Brazil’s goal in the Olympic final. Thanks to that, Team USA has secured its record fifth Olympic gold after eight years. However, the victory is largely diminished, as many claim Swanson and her strike partner Sophia Smith were offside in the build-up to the play. Even hardcore USWNT fans believe the Olympic organizers have robbed Brazil by allowing Swanson’s goal. At this juncture, a veteran soccer journalist with the Philadelphia Inquirer dropped a bombshell on the offside debacle.

Renowned soccer insider Jonathan Tannenwald took to his X handle to settle the debate on Mallory Swanson’s goal. Apologies for the grainy picture from holding my phone up to my computer screen. Swanson was definitely onside,” Tannenwald wrote. But the controversy is far from over. In fact, most allegations have it that Sophia Smith was offside, and that was the real problem.

And Tannenwald has an answer to those claims as well. “Smith was off but never touched the ball. Whether she troubled the goalkeeper enough at the end of the play is up to you,” the Philadelphia Inquirer journalist added.

Notably, the Brazil goalie Barbara did not appear perturbed by Sophia Smith charging at the Brazilian defense. She was keen on thwarting Swanson’s attempt from her wing and left the entire left corner exposed. In such a scenario, players usually tend to pass to the middle and make the best of the exposed area. But Swanson scoring herself is yet again proof that she was aware of Smith being offside.

Now, let’s see how the video-assisted referee judged the controversial attack led by Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith.

Why did the VAR count Mallory Swanson’s goal?

The VAR did not even minutely lack conviction that Mallory Swanson was onside in the buildup to the goal. Sophia Smith’s untimed run was the problem yet again. But in scenarios like these, VARs tend to examine if the player offside has interfered with the rival team’s defense or the goalkeeper. We have explained what happened with the Brazilian goalie. Now, speaking of the Brazilian defenders, they were yards behind Sophia Smith and struggled to catch up speed. Hence, there’s no question of Smith distracting the defenders. Well, at least in the VAR’s eye, Smith did not interfere with the rivals’ defensive unit.

Therefore, Swanson’s goal came clean. And so, Team USA rose like a phoenix. A year and barely a month have passed since the USWNT embarrassingly exited the 2023 World Cup. Emma Hayes, who took Team USA’s reins after the World Cup humiliation was tasked with putting the USWNT on top of global soccer once again. She has done that perfection. Unparalleled perfection, we must say.