A spectacular summer schedule of international football is in store this year, with Euro 2024 and the Copa America to be followed by the Men's and Women's Football Tournaments at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The eagerly-anticipated quadrennial extravaganza is edging ever closer, with 28 footballing nations across six federations vying for glory on the biggest international stage.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the official football draw, which was held in Saint-Denis on Wednesday night, as well as team previews, fixture dates and the tournament format.
When will the Paris 2024 Olympic Football Tournament take place?
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Football is one of the few sports on the Olympic programme that begins before the opening ceremony on July 26. While the Men's tournament will take place between July 24 and August 9, the Women's tournament is scheduled between July 25 and August 10.
Men's Football Tournament schedule:
Group Stage: July 24 – July 30
Quarter-finals: August 2
Semi-finals: August 5
Bronze medal match: August 8
Final: August 9
Women's Football Tournament schedule:
Group Stage: July 25 – July 31
Quarter-finals: August 3
Semi-finals: August 6
Bronze medal match: August 9
Final: August 10
Where will the Paris 2024 Olympic Football Tournament take place?
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A total of seven venues across France will be used to stage both the Men's and Women's tournaments. These are:
• Parc des Princes, Paris – Capacity: 47,929
• Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux – Capacity: 42,115
• Stade de Lyon, Decines-Charpieu (Lyon) – Capacity: 59,186
• Stade de Marseille, Marseille – Capacity: 67,394
• Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes – Capacity: 35,322
• Stade de Nice, Nice – Capacity: 36,178
• Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne – Capacity: 41,965
Both the Men's and Women's finals on August 9 and August 10 respectively will be held at the Parc des Princes.
Tournament format
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The Men's tournament will feature a total of 16 nations from six confederations and their 18-player squads will be predominantly made up of Under-23 players.
However, teams can also select up to three players over the age of 23, so the prospect of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe running out for Argentina and France respectively is a possibility this summer.
The 16 Men's nations have been split into four groups of four, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the knockout stage. From then onwards, the tournament will follow a classic knockout format until the final.
As for the Women's tournament, a total of 12 nations from six confederations will feature, but there are no age restrictions when selecting their 18-player squads.
The 12 Women's nations have been split into three groups of four, with the top two teams from each group, as well as the best two third-placed teams, progressing to the knockout stage. From then onwards, the tournament will follow a classic knockout format until the final.
A bronze medal will be awarded to the nation that finishes third (winning the bronze medal match), while the winners of the respective Men's and Women's finals will receive gold medals as the runners-up claim silver medals.
Confirmed draw for the Men's Football Tournament:
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Of the 16 Men's nations, 12 have already been confirmed, including France who have qualified as the host nation. Two-time gold medallists and defending champions Brazil surprisingly failed to qualify for the Games in Paris, while Hungary and Team GB, both three-time winners, also missed out on qualification.
There are three quotas reserved for the qualifiers of the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup, which are scheduled between April 15 to May 3, while the final quota is reserved for either the fourth-placed nation at the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup, or Guinea who finished fourth at the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations – those two nations will face off in a playoff to determine who advances to the Olympic Games.
As the host nation, France were seeded in Pot 1 along with Argentina and two of the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Pot 2 included Spain, New Zealand, Paraguay and Morocco, Pot 3 contained USA, Egypt, Mali and one AFC Under-23 Asian Cup qualifier, while Dominican Republic, Israel, Ukraine and the AFC/CAF qualification winner made up Pot 4.
The #Paris2024 @Olympics Football Tournament groups are locked in! 👊 pic.twitter.com/wWeOjRAdQh
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 20, 2024
Group A: France, USA, AFC/CAF qualifier, New Zealand
Group B: Argentina, Morocco, AFC qualifier 3, Ukraine
Group C: AFC qualifier 2, Spain, Egypt, Dominican Republic
Group D: AFC qualifier 1, Paraguay, Mali, Israel
Men's team previews (confirmed qualifiers):
FRANCE
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Confederation: UEFA
Head coach: Thierry Henry
How they qualified: Host nation
Previous Olympic appearances: 13 (Paris 1900, London 1908, Antwerp 1920, Paris 1924, Amsterdam 1928, London 1948, Helsinki 1952, Rome 1960, Mexico 1968, Montreal 1976, Los Angeles 1984, Atlanta 1996, Tokyo 2020)
Medals won: Two (one gold & one silver)
Best result: Gold medal (Los Angeles 1984)
ISRAEL
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Confederation: UEFA
Head coach: Guy Luzon
How they qualified: Progressed to the semi-finals of the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Previous Olympic appearances: Two (Mexico 1968, Montreal 1976)
Medals won: Zero
Best result: Quarter-finals (Mexico 1968, Montreal 1976)
SPAIN
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Confederation: UEFA
Head coach: Santi Denia
How they qualified: Runners-up at the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Previous Olympic appearances: 11 (Antwerp 1920, Paris 1924, Amsterdam 1928, Mexico 1968, Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, London 2012, Tokyo 2020)
Medals won: Four (one gold & three silver)
Best result: Gold medal (Barcelona 1992)
UKRAINE
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Confederation: UEFA
Head coach: Ruslan Rotan
How they qualified: Progressed to the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Previous Olympic appearances: N/A
Medals won: Zero
Best result: N/A
EGYPT
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Confederation: CAF
Head coach: Rogerio Micale
How they qualified: Runners-up at the 2023 Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations
Previous Olympic appearances: 12 (Antwerp 1920, Paris 1924, Amsterdam 1928, Berlin 1936, London 1948, Helsinki 1952, Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964, Los Angeles 1984, Barcelona 1992, London 2012, Tokyo 2020)
Medals won: Zero
Best result: Quarter-finals (Amsterdam 1928, Tokyo 1964)
MALI
Confederation: CAF
Head coach: Alou Badra Diallo
How they qualified: Finished third at the 2023 Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations
Previous Olympic appearances: One (Athens 2004)
Medals won: Zero
Best result: Quarter-finals (Athens 2004)
MOROCCO
Confederation: CAF
Head coach: Tarik Sektioui
How they qualified: Winners of the 2023 Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations
Previous Olympic appearances: Seven (Tokyo 1964, Munich 1972, Los Angeles 1984, Barcelona 1992, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, London 2012)
Medals won: Zero
Best result: Second round (Munich 1972)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Confederation: CONCACAF
Head coach: Ibai Gomez
How they qualified: Runners-up at the 2022 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship
Previous Olympic appearances: N/A
Medals won: Zero
Best result: N/A
USA
Confederation: CONCACAF
Head coach: Marko Mitrovic
How they qualified: Winners of the 2022 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship
Previous Olympic appearances: 14 (St Louis 1904, Paris 1924, Amsterdam 1928, Berlin 1936, London 1948, Helsinki 1952, Melbourne 1956, Munich 1972, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008)
Medals won: Two (one silver & one bronze)
Best result: Silver medal (St Louis 1904)
ARGENTINA
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Confederation: CONMEBOL
Head coach: Javier Mascherano
How they qualified: Finished in second place of the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament
Previous Olympic appearances: Nine (Amsterdam 1928, Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964, Seoul 1988, Atlanta 1996, Athen 2004, Beijing 2008, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020)
Medals won: Four (two gold & two silver)
Best result: Gold medal (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008)
PARAGUAY
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Confederation: CONMEBOL
Head coach: Carlos Jara Saguier
How they qualified: Finished first at the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament
Previous Olympic appearances: Two (Barcelona 1992, Athens 2004)
Medals won: One (silver)
Best result: Silver medal (Athens 2004)
NEW ZEALAND
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Confederation: OFC
Head coach: Darren Bazeley
How they qualified: Winners the 2023 OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
Previous Olympic appearances: Three (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Tokyo 2020)
Medals won: Zero
Best result: Quarter-final (Tokyo 2020)
Confirmed draw for the Women's Football Tournament:
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Of the 12 Women's nations, 10 have already been confirmed, including France who have qualified as the host nation. Norway – one of only four nations to ever win a gold medal at the Women's tournament – two-time silver medallists Sweden, who were runners-up at Tokyo 2020, and Team GB are among the notable nations who missed out on qualification.
There are two quotas reserved for the winners of the CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament which takes place between April 1 and April 9, with Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia all competing for the remaining two places at the Games.
As the host nation, France were seeded in Pot 1 along with reigning world champions and Olympic debutants Spain, and four-time gold medallists USA.
Holders Canada, who won their first gold medal at Tokyo 2020, were included in Pot 2 along with Germany and Japan, Pot 3 contained Brazil, Australia and Colombia, while New Zealand and the remaining two CAF qualifiers made up Pot 4.
The @Olympics groups are set! 🫡
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) March 20, 2024
See you at #Paris2024! 🇫🇷👋 pic.twitter.com/YqVHrmyh4U
Group A: France Women, Colombia Women, Canada Women, New Zealand Women
Group B: USA Women, CAF 2, Germany Women, Australia Women
Group C: Spain Women, Japan Women, CAF 1, Brazil Women
Women's team previews (confirmed qualifiers):
FRANCE
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Confederation: UEFA
Head coach: Herve Renard
How they qualified: Host nation
Previous Olympic appearances: Two (London 2012, Rio 2016)
Medals won: Zero
Best result: Fourth place (London 2012)
GERMANY
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Confederation: UEFA
Head coach: Horst Hrubesch
How they qualified: Finished third in the UEFA Women's Nations League
Previous Olympic appearances: Five (Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, Rio 2016)
Medals won: Four (one gold & three bronze)
Best result: Gold medal (Rio 2016)
SPAIN
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Confederation: UEFA
Head coach: Montse Tome
How they qualified: Winners of the UEFA Women's Nations League
Previous Olympic appearances: N/A
Medals won: Zero
Best result: N/A
AUSTRALIA
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Confederation: AFC
Head coach: Tony Gustavsson
How they qualified: Winners of a third-round match in the AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (beating Uzbekistan 13-0 on aggregate)
Previous Olympic appearances: Four (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020)
Medals won: Zero
Best result: Fourth place (Tokyo 2020)
JAPAN
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Confederation: AFC
Head coach: Futoshi Ikeda
How they qualified: Winners of a third-round match in the AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (beating Korea DPR 2-1 on aggregate)
Previous Olympic appearances: Five (Atlanta 1996, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Tokyo 2020)
Medals won: One (silver)
Best result: Silver medal (London 2012)
CANADA
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Confederation: CONCACAF
Head coach: Bev Priestman
How they qualified: Winners of the CONCACAF Olympic playoff (beating Jamaica 4-1 on aggregate)
Previous Olympic appearances: Four (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020)
Medals won: Three (one gold & two bronze)
Best result: Gold medal (Tokyo 2020)
USA
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Confederation: CONCACAF
Head coach: Emma Hayes (current Chelsea boss who will replace interim coach Twila Kilgore ahead of the tournament)
How they qualified: Winners of the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship
Previous Olympic appearances: Seven (Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020)
Medals won: Six (four gold, one silver & one bronze)
Best result: Gold medal (Atlanta 1996, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012)
BRAZIL
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Confederation: CONMEBOL
Head coach: Arthur Elias
How they qualified: Winners of the 2022 Copa America Femenina
Previous Olympic appearances: Seven (Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020)
Medals won: Two (both silver)
Best result: Silver medal (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008)
COLOMBIA
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Confederation: CONMEBOL
Head coach: Angelo Marsiglia
How they qualified: Runners-up in the 2022 Copa America Femenina
Previous Olympic appearances: Two (London 2012, Rio 2016)
Medals won: Zero
Best result: Group stage (London 2012, Rio 2016)
NEW ZEALAND
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Confederation: OFC
Head coach: Jitka Klimkova
How they qualified: Winners of the OFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
Previous Olympic appearances: Four (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020)
Medals won: Zero
Best result: Quarter-final (London 2012)
Oliver Thomas
