Four nations from four different federations will battle it out in what could prove to be a wide-open Group D at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Silver medallists at Athens 2004, South American outfit Paraguay will be joined in the group by three more teams seeking to finish top of the pile in the form of Japan - hosts of the last Olympics in Tokyo - Mali and Israel
Here, Sports Mole provides an in-depth summary of Group D at the Paris 2024 Olympics, including standing, fixtures, predictions and everything you need to know about the four teams.
OLYMPIC FOOTBALL 2024 GROUP D FIXTURES
July 24: Japan vs. Paraguay (6pm | Stade de Bordeaux)
July 24: Mali vs. Israel (8pm | Parc des Princes)
July 27: Israel vs. Paraguay (6pm | Parc des Princes)
July 27: Japan vs. Mali (8pm | Stade de Bordeaux)
July 30: Israel vs. Japan (8pm | Stade de la Beaujoire)
July 30: Paraguay v Mali (8pm | Parc des Princes)
All kickoff times BST
OLYMPIC FOOTBALL 2024 GROUP D TEAMS
JAPAN
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Previous Olympics: 11
Best result: Bronze medal (Mexico City 1968)
Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Fourth place
Qualification: Reached the final of the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup 2024 & won the tournament
Head coach: Go Oiwa
SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Leobrian Kokubo (Benfica), Taishi Nozawa (FC Tokyo) Sasaki Masato Sasaki (Kashiwa Reysol)
Defenders: Riku Handa (Gamba Osaka), Ayumu Ohata (Urawa Reds), Ryuya Nishio (Cerezo Osaka), Seiji Kimura (Sagan Tosu), Hiroki Sekine (Kashiwa Reysol), Kota Takai (Kawasaki Frontale), Kaito Suzuki (Jubilo Iwata)
Midfielders: Sota Kawasaki (Kyoto Sanga), Rihito Yamamoto (Sint-Truiden VV), Ryutaro Araki (FC Tokyo), Joel Chima Fujita (Sint-Truiden VV), Shunsuke Mito (Sparta Rotterdam), Sano Kodai (NEC Nijmegen), Fuki Yamada (Tokyo Verdy)
Forwards: Yu Hirakawa (Machida Zelvia), Shota Fujio (Machida), Kein Sato (Werder Bremen), Koki Saito (Rommel SK), Mao Hosoya (Kashiwa)
PARAGUAY
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Previous Olympics: Two
Best result: Silver medal (Athens 2004)
Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Did not compete
Qualification: Finished first at the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament
Head coach: Carlos Jara Saguier
SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Roberto Fernandez (Botafogo), Rodrigo Frutos (Olimpia), Facundo Insfran (Club Olimpia)
Defenders: Fabian Balbuena (Dynamo Moscow), Alexis Cantero (Guarani), Ronaldo De Jesus (Cerro Porteno), Gilberto Flores (Sportivo Trinidense), Alan Nunez (Cerro Porteno), Daniel Rivas (Nacional), Fernando Roman (Guarani)
Midfielders: Diego Gomez (Inter Miami), Marcos Gomez (Olimpia), Ruben Lezcano (Libertad), Wilder Viera (Cerro Porteno)
Forwards: Julio Enciso (Brighton & Hove Albion), Marcelo Fernandez (Libertad), Diego Gonzalez (Lazio), Kevin Parzajuk (Olimpia), Marcelo Perez (Huracan), Enso Gonzalez (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Ruben Lezcano (Libertad), Gustavo Caballero (National), Tiago Caballero (National)
MALI
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Previous Olympics: One
Best result: Quarter-finals (Athens 2004)
Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Did not compete
Qualification: Finished third at the 2023 Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations
Head coach: Alou Badra Diallo
SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Lassine Diarra (Lyon), Oumar Coulibaly (Olympique Bamako), DIARRA Hassane Diarra (Real Bamako)
Defenders: Fode Doucoure (Red Star), Hamidou Diallo (Farense), Mamadou Tounkara (Vitoria de Guimaraes, Ibrahima Cisse (Schalke 04), Mohamed Cisset (Nittany Lions), Ahmed Diomande (Ittifaq Marrakech)
Midfielders: Coli Saco (Ancona), Boubacar Traore (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Salam Jiddou (ES Setif), Issouf Sissokho (Bordeaux), Brahima Diarra (Huddersfield Town), Moussa Diakite (Cadiz), Mahamadou Bah (Olympique Beja), Fady Coulibaly (Stade Malien)
Forwards: Wilson Samake (Rennes), Cheickna Doumbia (Shabab Al-Ahli), Thiemoko Diarra (Chateauroux), Demba Diallo (Manisa), Issou Maiga (Academico De Viseu FC)
ISRAEL
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Previous Olympics: Two
Best result: Quarter-finals (Mexico 1968, Montreal 1976)
Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Did not compete
Qualification: Progressed to the semi-finals of the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Head coach: Guy Luzon
SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Daniel Peretz (Bayern Munich), Niv Eliasi (Hapoel Be'er Sheva), Omer Niron (Maccabi Netanya)
Defenders: Ilay Feingold (Maccabi Haifa), Sean Goldberg (Maccabi Haifa), Stav Lemkin (Shakhtar Donetsk), Roy Revivo (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Noam Ben Harush (Hapoel Haifa), Or Israelov (Hapoel Tel Aviv)
Midfielders: Omri Gandelman (Gent), Ethan Azoulay (Maccabi Netanya), Oscar Gloukh (Red Bull Salzburg), Ayanaw Ferede (Hapoel Jerusalem), Adi Yona (Beitar Jersusalem), Ido Shahar (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Niv Yehosoua (Maccabi Petach-Tikva), Noam Melamud (Hapoel Jerusalem)
Forwards: Osher Davida (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Dor Turgeman (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Liel Abada (Charlotte FC), Elad Madmon (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Idan Toklomati (Maccabi Petach-Tikva)
OLYMPIC FOOTBALL 2024 GROUP D PREDICTION
After winning all three group games en route to reaching the semi-finals at Tokyo 2020, Japan will fancy their chances of advancing from Group D at this summer's tournament, although it is somewhat of surprise that Go Oiwa has decided against selecting any overaged players in his squad.
Japan should still be a competitive side in the group and will likely challenge Paraguay, boasting Brighton star Julio Enciso within their ranks, for first position. The South Americans notably finished ahead of both Argentina and reigning champions Brazil - who failed to qualify for Paris - to win the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament and we are backing Carlos Jara Saguier's side to top Group D.
With Japan potentially securing second spot, that could mean both Israel and Mali miss out on reaching the knockout rounds, although a top-two finish for either nation cannot be completely written off.
Oliver Thomas
