A silver medal that feels like gold: Brazil in Paris

At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, the Brazilian women’s football team made history: they exceeded all expectations and returned home with a valuable silver medal.

The whole team was highly praised for this achievement – both collectively and individually – but perhaps no name stood out as much during the tournament as Gabi Portilho.

By 2024, Portilho was already a major force in the Brazilian Women’s Championship and one of Corinthians’ key players. With Timão, she won five consecutive Brazilian Women’s Championship titles, three Libertadores, three São Paulo State Championships, three Brazilian Super Cups and one São Paulo State Cup. She was instrumental in every campaign, displaying excellent vision and a knack for scoring crucial goals. The national team coach, Arthur Elias, called up Portilho for these qualities and also for her role within the squad: at 29, she helped bridge the gap between more experienced players, such as Marta, and promising young talents, such as Aline Gomes. In other words, she played an important role both on and off the pitch.

But even with Portilho alongside Marta and several other brilliant players available for the tournament, the Brazilian national team did not arrive at the 2024 Olympic Games as favourites. In fact, expectations were very low.

Much of this had to do with the team’s performance at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, when they were knocked out in the group stage.

That disappointment hung over the team upon their arrival in Paris – and ended up becoming almost a self-fulfilling prophecy.

A shaky start

Despite a 1-0 victory over Nigeria in their opening match, Brazil failed to maintain their momentum and went on to lose to Japan and Spain.

Both defeats were particularly dramatic.

Against Japan, Brazil were leading until the 47th minute of the second half, when Japan were awarded a penalty, equalised and, a few minutes later, turned the game around. Final score: 2–1 to Japan.

Against Spain, who were the reigning champions at the time, Brazil were dominated for virtually the entire match and lost 2–0.

To make matters worse, the team also lost several key players right at the start of the tournament. Bia Zaneratto, one of the national team’s main strikers, suffered a serious injury shortly before the competition and wasn’t even called up. Antônia, who had been one of the standout players against Spain, fractured her leg and was ruled out for the rest of the tournament. Marta was shown a red card after a heavy challenge on Olga Carmona, leaving her suspended for the next match – that is, if Brazil managed to stay in the tournament.

Surviving to keep the dream alive

Fortunately, they did – but only just. They progressed to the knockout stages as one of the two best third-placed teams in their groups. It was a huge relief. Brazil had never been knocked out after the group stage – and they certainly didn’t want to break that record just then.

And so Brazil reached the quarter-finals, but across the country the feeling was that the task would be almost impossible. The team had lost two of their three group stage matches, were missing several key players – through injury or suspension – and, to make matters worse, were set to face France, the hosts playing on home soil.

And there was another significant detail: the Brazilian women’s team had never beaten France in an official match – only in friendlies.

But there was one player who refused to let hope die before the match had even begun: Gabi Portilho. The striker had fought her entire career to reach a stage as big as the Olympics – and she wasn’t going to walk away without a fight, nor let her teammates’ spirits wane.

Whilst many people saw the group stage as a sign that the quarter-finals would be a disaster, Portilho saw it as a learning experience and motivation to keep believing: “I think that was the most important thing we went through, because that’s where we came together, where we closed ranks.” (GE)

And that is how Portilho led Brazil to the quarter-finals: not with fear or pessimism, but with her head held high. With pride. With confidence.

The impossible mission against France and the goal that silenced Paris

The home crowd was out in force that night at the Parc des Princes, and France began pressing from the very first minute.

Early in the first half, the home side were awarded a penalty, but Brazilian goalkeeper Lorena saved it. Towards the end of the first half, the ball hit the crossbar.

France kept knocking on the door, but Brazil, the clear underdogs in the clash, managed to defend everything and stay in the game. They even had a few chances of their own, but the match remained goalless.

Then, in the 37th minute of the second half, Gabi Portilho used her speed, got there before two French defenders and slotted the ball into the corner of the net. The Parc des Princes was in shock. The key Corinthians captain, who had never before been called up for a World Cup or the Olympics, had just led Brazil to victory against the hosts and one of the strongest teams in the world.

Her name began to go down in history – but Portilho wasn’t finished yet.

A new global star emerges

The semi-final, a rematch against Spain, was far from easy, and many Brazilian fans feared a repeat of the group stage defeat. But the team returned to the pitch a different side. Buoyed by the confidence of their unlikely victory over France, the team was decisive and virtually flawless tactically, winning 4–2.

Gabi Portilho put in another great performance. Without the ball, she pressed with intensity; in possession, she helped create moves and maintained a steady rhythm throughout the match. With every move, she showed confidence and courage. Amidst the injury absences, the team needed a new star player – and she stepped into that role. She scored Brazil’s second goal and also provided the assist for the third, scored by Adriana.

As had been the case previously, Portilho was also very involved in the final against the United States, but this time her efforts were not enough. The Americans managed to score in the second half and clinched the title, becoming tournament champions for the fifth time.

A nation that believes again

It was a narrow defeat, but Brazil still failed to win Olympic gold in women’s football. Even so, the silver medal represented a great campaign – after all, it was the country’s first silver medal in the tournament in 16 years. The defeat came against the American team, the most successful side in the competition and also in the Women’s World Cup.

Few people believed in Brazil when the tournament began, but the team came away with the silver medal.

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For many people, the name most associated with that medal was Gabi Portilho – the unlikely heroine who had never been selected for an Olympics, the unpredictable striker who left home at 15 to chase her dream of becoming a professional player.

As her sister, Grazielli, said in an interview during the tournament: “No one imagined that little girl would be in Paris today. She is the pride of the family, she is very dedicated, she represents so much.” (G1)

And that is more or less what Portilho has come to represent in Brazilian sport: that ability to step up in the toughest moments and never give up.

From Brazil to the world

Her performance attracted so much attention that Gotham FC, from the United States, decided to sign her from Corinthians at the end of the year – and she did not disappoint, helping the club win their second league title.

At the end of 2024, Portilho finished 18th in the Women’s Ballon d’Or voting.

In addition, she won ESPN’s Silver Ball as the best player in the Brazilian Women’s Championship and was named in FIFA’s 2024 Team of the Year – the only South American in the squad.

A story that won’t be forgotten

Of course, the achievement isn’t Gabi Portilho’s alone – she herself has made that clear on several occasions, always making a point of acknowledging her teammates and the coaching staff for everything they built during those Olympics.

But there is no denying that her optimism and confidence ended up infecting the whole squad and helped create an atmosphere of pride and determination within the team. It was a squad that achieved a historic result and also helped put women’s football back in the spotlight, in Brazil and around the world.

With the silver medal around her neck, Gabi Portilho dedicated that surprising campaign to the next generation of women’s football in Brazil: “Sport opens doors for many lives. It saves lives. Let this be a lesson. These girls who won medals didn’t have so many opportunities. It’s hard to live in a country with so much murder, so much femicide. So we need sport to open more doors and value women more. Because women are capable. Women are warriors.” (GE)

What Gabi Portilho and the rest of the Brazilian team achieved in Paris cannot be underestimated. It was a monumental feat, defying all predictions, narratives and expectations.

It is a moment that should be remembered for decades, passed down from generation to generation.

One day, we will tell our children and grandchildren the story of those Olympics – of how Brazil, with a depleted squad and a very difficult start to the tournament, managed to bounce back, beat two of the strongest teams in the world and win a historic silver medal.

We will remember captain Marta, of course. The colossal performance of goalkeeper Lorena. The tactical work of Arthur Elias.

And every time this story is told, it will be impossible not to remember the brilliant performances of Gabi Portilho – the relentless striker who overcame every obstacle and helped lead Brazil back to glory.

Brazil in women’s football at the 2024 Olympics

  • (25/07) Group stage = Brazil 1–0 Nigeria

  • (28/07) Group stage = Brazil 1–2 Japan

  • (31/07) Group stage = Brazil 0–2 Spain

  • (3 August) Quarter-finals = Brazil 1–0 France

  • (06/08) Semi-final = Brazil 4–2 Spain

  • (10/08) Final = Brazil 0–1 United States