There was no surprise, though, when FIFA announced Alyssa Naeher as the best goalkeeper in the world at the 2024 The Best awards. It was simply well-deserved recognition after a flawless season, one which was marked by performances that knitted together precision, composure, and an almost superhuman ability to decide games. At 36, Naeher didn't just light it up between the posts; she wrote another chapter in the annals of U.S. women's soccer in gold.
Follow MLS Multiplex on X (Twitter).
Alyssa Naeher's unforgettable season: the wall that helped bring USWNT back to the pinnacle of the world, more precisely in Paris Olympics, playing every minute of the competition and conceding just two goals - Naeher delivered saves that will be remembered especially in the knockout rounds.
When the stakes are high, Naeher rises to the occasion. Proof of this came in the three consecutive 1-0 victories during the Olympic knockout stage, two of which went to extra time. In the final against Brazil, the American triumph secured their first Olympic gold in 12 years. Once again, Alyssa was decisive, becoming the first goalkeeper in history to keep a clean sheet in both a World Cup final and an Olympic final.
If that wasn't enough, her miraculous save in the dying moments of extra time against Germany in the semifinals is for the history books. It was just one of those moments that defined a career and left soccer fans holding their breath.
Beyond the Olympics in Brilliance
Alyssa Naeher's year wasn't limited to the Olympics. During the Concacaf W Gold Cup, she proved once more that she is a synonym for reliability. In the semifinal against Canada, she did something extraordinary: she saved three penalties and topped it off by converting one herself. Her performance advanced the USWNT to the final, earning her the Golden Glove award and a well-deserved spot in the tournament's Best XI.
Months later, in the final of the SheBelieves Cup, again against Canada, she repeated the trick. Naeher stopped three more penalties in a nerve-shredding seven-round shootout, coolly converting her kick.
A legend's farewell
In late November, Alyssa Naeher announced her retirement from international soccer. During her final year with the USWNT, she started 18 matches, boasting 13 wins, just one loss, and three draws. She left the field with an impressive GAA of 0.47, having played over 1,700 minutes. The incredible thing could be said that even in her last year, she was the second most used player for her team.
Her last two games against England and the Netherlands were a fitting farewell to a legendary career. Naeher didn't just win titles and awards; she built a legacy that will be hard to match. The first American to win The Best
The FIFA The Best for the best goalkeeper puts Alyssa Naeher in a class of just a few names like Sari van Veenendaal in 2019, Sarah Bouhaddi in 2020, Christiane Endler in 2021, and Mary Earps in 2022 and 2023. She is the first-ever U.S. goalkeeper to win this honor, capping off a season that combined technical brilliance, leadership, and decisive moments.
The good news is that such a title is not limited to her alone. Alyssa Naeher is more about being the reflection of a whole generation that maintained the States at the apex of female soccer.
A goalkeeper who made impossible saves seem routine, the 2024 The Best award is fitting. Naeher bows out at the peak of her powers from international soccer with the unmistakable greatness that will go down in history as one of the finest goalkeepers in USWNT history.