The European Championship and Copa America may have drawn to a close, but a spectacular summer schedule of international football continues with the men's and women's tournaments at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
This eagerly-anticipated quadrennial extravaganza will see a total of 28 footballing nations across six federations vying for glory in front of a global audience, with the first group-stage matches to be played on July 24, before the men's and women's finals take place on August 9 and 10 respectively.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the previous medal winners of the men's & women's Olympic football tournament, which nations have been the most successful as well as some of the standout records held by both teams and players.
Men's Olympic football records:
© Imago
Most gold medals: Hungary, Great Britain (3)
Most medals: Brazil (7)
Most Olympic appearances: Italy (15)
Best performance by a host nation: Great Britain, Belgium, Spain, Brazil (Champions)
Most goals scored in a match: Denmark 17-1 France (London 1908)
Biggest winning margin: Denmark 17-1 France (London 1908) & Germany 16-0 Russian Empire (Stockholm 1912)
Top goalscorer (overall): Antal Dunai (13) | Hungary | 13 goals | Tokyo 1964, Mexico City 1968, Munich 1972
Top goal scorer (at single Games): Ferenc Bene | Hungary | 12 goals | Tokyo 1964
Top goalscorer in a match: Gottfried Fuchs | Germany | 10 goals scored in Olympic consolidation round vs. Russia
Youngest goalscorer: Angel Uribe | 16 years, 332 days | Peru vs. France (Rome 1960)
Oldest goalscorer: Ryan Giggs | 38 years, 243 days | Great Britain vs. United Arab Emirates (London 2012)
Top five men's medal winners:
1. Brazil – 7 medals (Gold: 2 | Silver: 3 | Bronze: 2)
2. Germany – 6 medals (Gold: 1 | Silver: 2 | Bronze: 3)
3. Hungary – 5 medals (Gold: 3 | Silver: 1 | Bronze: 1)
4. Soviet Union – 5 medals (Gold: 2 | Silver: 0 | Bronze: 3)
5. Yugoslavia – 5 medals (Gold: 1 | Silver: 3 | Bronze: 1)
Past winners of Men's Olympic football:
© Reuters
Paris 1900 Olympics
Gold Medal: Great Britain
Silver Medal: France
Bronze Medal: Belgium
St Louis 1904 Olympics
Gold Medal: Canada
Silver Medal: Christian Brothers College (USA)
Bronze Medal: St. Rose Parish (USA)
London 1908 Olympics
Gold Medal: Great Britain
Silver Medal: Denmark
Bronze Medal: Netherlands
Stockholm 1912 Olympics
Gold Medal: Great Britain
Silver Medal: Denmark
Bronze Medal: Netherlands
Antwerp 1920 Olympics
Gold Medal: Belgium
Silver Medal: Spain
Bronze Medal: Netherlands
Paris 1924 Olympics
Gold Medal: Uruguay
Silver Medal: Switzerland
Bronze Medal: Sweden
Amsterdam 1928 Olympics
Gold Medal: Uruguay
Silver Medal: Argentina
Bronze Medal: Italy
Berlin 1936 Olympics
Gold Medal: Italy
Silver Medal: Austria
Bronze Medal: Norway
London 1948 Olympics
Gold Medal: Sweden
Silver Medal: Yugoslavia
Bronze Medal: Denmark
Helsinki 1952 Olympics
Gold Medal: Hungary
Silver Medal: Yugoslavia
Bronze Medal: Sweden
Melbourne 1956 Olympics
Gold Medal: Soviet Union
Silver Medal: Yugoslavia
Bronze Medal: Bulgaria
Rome 1960 Olympics
Gold Medal: Yugoslavia
Silver Medal: Denmark
Bronze Medal: Hungary
Tokyo 1964 Olympics
Gold Medal: Hungary
Silver Medal: Czechoslovakia
Bronze Medal: Germany
Mexico City 1968 Olympics
Gold Medal: Hungary
Silver Medal: Bulgaria
Bronze Medal: Japan
Munich 1972 Olympics
Gold Medal: Poland
Silver Medal: Hungary
Bronze Medal: Soviet Union & East Germany (shared)
Montreal 1976 Olympics
Gold Medal: East Germany
Silver Medal: Poland
Bronze Medal: Soviet Union
Moscow 1980 Olympics
Gold Medal: Czechoslovakia
Silver Medal: East Germany
Bronze Medal: Soviet Union
Los Angeles 1984 Olympics
Gold Medal: France
Silver Medal: Brazil
Bronze Medal: Yugoslavia
Seoul 1988 Olympics
Gold Medal: Soviet Union
Silver Medal: Brazil
Bronze Medal: West Germany
Barcelona 1992 Olympics
Gold Medal: Spain
Silver Medal: Poland
Bronze Medal: Ghana
Atlanta 1996 Olympics
Gold Medal: Nigeria
Silver Medal: Argentina
Bronze Medal: Brazil
Sydney 2000 Olympics
Gold Medal: Cameroon
Silver Medal: Spain
Bronze Medal: Chile
Athens 2004 Olympics
Gold Medal: Argentina
Silver Medal: Paraguay
Bronze Medal: Italy
Beijing 2008 Olympics
Gold Medal: Argentina
Silver Medal: Nigeria
Bronze Medal: Brazil
London 2012 Olympics
Gold Medal: Mexico
Silver Medal: Brazil
Bronze Medal: South Korea
Rio 2016 Olympics
Gold Medal: Brazil
Silver Medal: Germany
Bronze Medal: Nigeria
Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Gold Medal: Brazil
Silver Medal: Spain
Bronze Medal: Mexico
Women's Olympic football records:
© Imago
Most gold medals: USA (4)
Most medals: USA (6)
Most Olympic appearances: Brazil, Sweden, USA (6)
Best performance by a host nation: USA (Champions)
Most goals scored in a match: Netherlands 10-3 Zambia (Tokyo 2020)
Biggest winning margin: Germany 8-0 China (Athens 2004)
Top goalscorer (overall): Cristiane | Brazil | 14 goals | Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016
Top goal scorer (at single Games): Vivianne Miedema | Netherlands | 10 goals | Tokyo 2020
Top goalscorer in a match: Birgit Prinz (4 goals for Germany vs. China at Athens 2004) | Vivianne Miedema (4 goals for the Netherlands vs. Zambia at Tokyo 2020)
Youngest goalscorer: Ellie Carpenter | 16 years, 119 days | Australia vs. Zimbabwe (Rio 2016)
Oldest goalscorer: Formiga | 43 years, 143 days | Brazil vs. Netherlands (Tokyo 2020)
Top five women's medal winners:
1. USA – 5 medals (Gold: 4 | Silver: 0 | Bronze: 1)
2. Germany – 4 medals (Gold: 1 | Silver: 0 | Bronze: 3)
3. Canada – 3 medals (Gold: 1 | Silver: 0 | Bronze: 2)
4. Norway – 2 medals (Gold: 1 | Silver: 0 | Bronze: 1)
=5. Brazil – 2 medals (Gold: 0 | Silver: 2 | Bronze: 0)
=5. Sweden – 2 medals (Gold: 0 | Silver: 2 | Bronze: 0)
Past winners of women's Olympic football:
© Imago
Atlanta 1996 Olympics
Gold Medal: USA
Silver Medal: China
Bronze Medal: Norway
Sydney 2000 Olympics
Gold Medal: Norway
Silver Medal: USA
Bronze Medal: Germany
Athens 2004 Olympics
Gold Medal: USA
Silver Medal: Brazil
Bronze Medal: Germany
Beijing 2008 Olympics
Gold Medal: USA
Silver Medal: Brazil
Bronze Medal: Germany
London 2012 Olympics
Gold Medal: USA
Silver Medal: Japan
Bronze Medal: Canada
Rio 2016 Olympics
Gold Medal: Germany
Silver Medal: Sweden
Bronze Medal: Canada
Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Gold Medal: Canada
Silver Medal: Sweden
Bronze Medal: USA
Oliver Thomas
