Football at the 2024 Olympics: Teams, venues, groups, schedule and everything you need to know

Hosts France have certainly gone big after selecting Thierry Henry as head coach and drafting Alexandre Lacazette in as captain.

However, there are a number of nations which will be looking to upset the apple cart as the battle for gold gets underway.

Here’s everything you need to know about the men’s football tournament at the 2024 Olympic Games.

 

Group A

France

Head coach: Thierry Henry

How they qualified: As hosts

Previous tournaments: 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)

Best result: Gold medal (Los Angeles 1984)

Squad: Lyon forward Alexandre Lacazette is the captain and will be joined by Crystal Palace duo of Michael Olise and Jean-Philippe Mateta.

 

USA

Head coach: Marko Mitrovic

How they qualified: Won the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship

Previous tournaments: 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)

Best result: Silver medal (St. Louis 1904)

Squad: Walker Zimmerman is the skipper of a squad which includes VfL Wolfsburg’s Kevin Paredes.

 

Guinea

Head coach: Kaba Diawara

How they qualified: AFC-CAF play-off winners

Previous tournaments: 1 (Mexico City 1968)

Best result: Group stage (Mexico City 1968)

Squad: Naby Keita captains his nation while ex-Barcelona man Ilaix Moriba also joins the squad.

 

New Zealand

Head coach: Darren Bazeley

How they qualified: Won the 2023 OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament

Previous tournaments: 3 (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Tokyo 2020)

Best result: Quarter-final (Tokyo 2020)

Squad: Michael Boxall is the skipper of a squad which includes Reading’s Tyler Bindon and Plymouth’s Ben Waine.

 

Group B

Argentina

Head coach: Javier Mascherano

How they qualified: Finished in second place at the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament

Previous tournaments: 9 (Amsterdam 1928, Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964, Seoul 1988, Atlanta 1996, Athen 2004, Beijing 2008, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020)

Best result: Gold medal (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008)

Squad: Some big names will feature for the Argentinian’s including Nicolas Otamendi and Julian Alvarez.

 

Morocco

Head coach: Tarik Sektioui

How they qualified: Won the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations

Previous tournaments: 7 (Tokyo 1964, Munich 1972, Los Angeles 1984, Barcelona 1992, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, London 2012)

Best result: Second round (Munich 1972)

Squad: Achraf Hakimi is the skipper and will lead a young Morocco side.

 

Ukraine

Head coach: Ruslan Rotan

How they qualified: Reached the semi-final of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Previous tournaments: 0

Best result: N/A

Squad: The Ukrainians have names a squad which is mostly made up of players who play domestically – bar captain Maksym Talovyerov (LASK) and Maksym Khlan (Lechia Gdansk).

 

Iraq

Head coach: Radhi Shenaishil Swadi

How they qualified: Third place at the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2024

Previous tournaments: 5 (Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Athens 2004, Rio 2016)

Best result: Fourth (Athens 2004)

Squad: Saad Natiq will captain a side which also includes Eintracht Braunschweig forward Youssef Amyn.

 

Group C

Uzbekistan

Head coach: Timur Kapadze

How they qualified: Won the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2024/Reached the final of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2024

Previous tournaments: 0

Best result: N/A

Squad: Cagliari forward Eldor Shomurodov will captain the national side.

 

Spain

Head coach: Santi Denia

How they qualified: Reached the final of the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Previous tournaments: 11 (Antwerp 1920, Paris 1924, Amsterdam 1928, Mexico 1968, Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, London 2012, Tokyo 2020)

Best result: Gold medal (Barcelona 1992)

Squad: The Spaniards head into the Olympics with an exciting squad which includes Eric Garcia, Diego Lopez, Abel Ruiz and Man City forward Sergio Gomez.

 

Egypt

Head coach: Rogerio Micale

How they qualified: Reached the final of U-23 Africa Cup of Nations

Previous tournaments: 12 (Antwerp 1920, Paris 1924, Amsterdam 1928, Berlin 1936, London 1948, Helsinki 1952, Rome 1960, Toyko 1964, Los Angeles 1984, Barcelona 1992, London 2012, Tokyo 2020)

Best result: Quarter-final (Amsterdam 1928, Tokyo 1964)

Squad: Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny is the stand out name in the Egypt squad.

 

Dominican Republic

Head coach: Ibai Gomez

How they qualified: Reached the final of the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship

Previous tournaments: 0

Best result: None

Squad: Leeds United’s Junior Firpo will be hoping to make a big impact after being included in the squad.

 

Group D

Japan

Head coach: Go Oiwa

How they qualified: Won the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2024/Reached the final of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2024

Previous tournaments: 11 (Berlin 1936, Melbourne 1956, Tokyo 1964, Mexico City 1968, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020)

Best result: Bronze medal (Mexico City 1968) 

Squad: Joel Chima Fujita captains a squad which is largely made up of players from the J1 League.

 

Paraguay

Head coach: Carlos Jara Saguier

How they qualified: Topped the final standings of the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament

Previous tournaments: 2 (Barcelona 1992, Athens 2004)

Best result: Silver medal (Athens 2004)

Squad: Brighton’s Julio Enciso, Wolverhampton’s Enso Gonzalez and Inter Miami midfielder Diego Gomez has all been included.

 

Mali

Head coach: Alou Badra Diallo

How they qualified: Came third at the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations

Previous tournaments: 1 (Athens 2004)

Best result: Quarter-final (Athens 2004)

Squad: Wolves midfielder Boubacar Traore, Huddersfield Town’s Brahima Diarra and Schalke’s Ibrahima Cisse have all been selected.

 

Israel

Head coach: Guy Luzon

How they qualified: Reached the semi-finals of the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Previous tournaments: 2 (Mexico 1968, Montreal 1976)

Best result: Quarter-final (Mexico 1968, Montreal 1976)

Squad: Former Celtic man Liel Abada is part of the squad which is captained by Sean Goldberg.

 

Venues

Matches will be played across seven stadiums in seven cities around France. PSG’s Parc des Princes in the capital will host the gold medal match.

Stadiums in Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Saint-Etienne, Nice and Nantes will also be used.

 

Schedule

The tournament will begin on Wednesday, July 24 with France taking on the United States in Marseille. Group stage matches will continue until July 30.

Quarter-final games will take place on August 2, the semi-finals on August 5 and the final on August 9. The bronze medal clash will take place a day earlier on August 8.