Get ready to ignite your passion for the beautiful game as we kick off the 2024 Olympics Soccer Tournament! From July 24 to August 10, witness the globe’s finest teams lace up their boots in a quest for the ultimate glory on the world’s biggest stage. Feel the heartbeat of the nations, the dreams of the athletes, and the roar of the fans converging in Paris, the city of lights, where every goal, tackle, and save writes a new page in Olympic history. With the world watching, let the games begin!
Here are SBN’s tips and predictions for today’s matches!
21/20 Argentina | Draw 19/10 | Morocco 5/2 (15:00)
Argentina is gearing up for their 10th appearance at the Olympic Games and will be aiming to improve on their efforts at Tokyo 2020 where they failed to advance from the group stage after being pipped to a top-two finish by Egypt via goal difference. La Albiceleste is regarded as one of the favourites to triumph this time around in Paris and is managed by a proven winner in former Liverpool and Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano, who won gold as a player at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 and has been in charge of Argentina’s youth side since 2021.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will represent the eighth time that Morocco has taken part in the Men’s Football Tournament and the first since they competed at London 2012 where they failed to progress from the group stage. Morocco has qualified for this year’s tournament after winning the 2023 Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations under former boss Issame Charai, who was ‘bizarrely’ relieved of his duties in March after losing three friendlies out of five at the backend of 2023 and later replaced by current head coach Tarik Sektioui, formerly of Porto in his playing days. Sektioui has taken over a Morocco side who are currently ranked as fourth favourites with the bookmakers to claim a gold medal in Paris; they will be aiming to secure at least a top-two finish in Group B and advance beyond the first phase for the first time since the 1972 Olympics when they reached the second round in Munich. Argentina to edge Morocco for the win.
15/2 Uzbekistan | Draw 38/10 | Spain 3/10 (15:00)
Ultimately aiming to go one better than three years ago in Japan, Spain Under-23s meet Uzbekistan Under-23s in their first game at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Wednesday. Getting their campaigns underway at Parc des Princes, both nations are competing to progress from Group C, which also features Egypt and the Dominican Republic. Shortly after the senior national team’s success at Euro 2024, Spain’s Under-23 side will try to make it a golden summer by winning the men’s Olympic football competition in France. Spain qualified for their 12th Olympics by virtue of finishing runners-up at the 2023 European Under-21 Championship, and they now want to replicate the squad that won gold on home soil in 1992.
By contrast with their opening opponents, Uzbekistan is making their Olympic football debut, having never qualified before. Like Spain, the White Wolves lost out in the final of what was effectively their qualifying competition, being beaten by Japan in the recent Under-23 Asian Cup in Qatar. Having previously finished in the top two of that tournament twice – but not during Olympic years – Uzbekistan finally got their reward, and adding Roma striker Eldor Shomurodov as one of three overage players should boost hopes of progressing from Group C. His nation’s all-time top scorer with 40 international goals at senior level, Shomurodov bears a heavy burden – but the chance to make more history is also there for the taking. Spain to win.
13/20 Guinea | Draw 9/4 | New Zealand 44/10 (17:00)
Guinea and New Zealand have the honour of kicking off Group A of the men’s football tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics when they clash at the Allianz Riviera in Nice. The African nation is competing at its first Games since the 1968 edition, while New Zealand was present at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, finishing in sixth place. Taking part in just their second Olympics men’s football tournament, Guinea’s Games debut in the 1968 edition actually saw the African outfit only send a men’s football team, where they crashed out in the group stage with just one win to their name. Fifty-six years later, the National Elephants are making their long-awaited return to the quadrennial extravaganza thanks to their exploits on the continent, having made the semi-finals of the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations last year.
Olympic qualification was little more than a training exercise for Darren Bazeley’s side, as New Zealand topped their OFC group thanks to a 3-1 success over Fiji and an awarded 3-0 win over Papua New Guinea, who were unable to travel for their encounter. Bazeley’s side at least got a taste of the Nice surroundings before pitting their wits against Guinea, after which the daunting battles against France and the United States take precedence. I see a draw in this fixture.
1/7 Egypt | Draw 6/1 | Dominican Republic 14/1 (17:00)
Kicking off their campaigns at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Wednesday evening, Egypt Under-23s and Dominican Republic Under-23s go head-to-head at Stade de la Beaujoire. With Group C also featuring Spain and Uzbekistan, neither side can afford to lose their opening fixture in Nantes. After winning the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil four years ago, Egypt were then quarter-finalists at the delayed Tokyo 2020 games, only falling to eventual winners Brazil at the last-eight stage. Though they could not successfully defend their African title last year, they still qualified for Paris 2024 by finishing runners-up to regional rivals Morocco. Marking the first time that the Pharaohs will play successive Olympic tournaments since Tokyo 1964, Rogerio Micale’s current squad will now aim to claim a first football medal in their nation’s history.
While their opening opponents are 13-time finalists, the Dominican Republic will make their Olympic football debut this summer and therefore start as outsiders to progress to the knockout phase. After finishing last in their qualifying group for Tokyo 2020, Los Quisqueyanos bounced back by reaching the 2022 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship final, thereby securing a place in Paris. The qualification has encouraged players of Dominican descent to come forward and accept selection, with 27-year-old Junior Firpo of Leeds United one of three overage players in the squad this summer. However, a recent 7-0 friendly loss to Thierry Henry’s talented France team demonstrates the task ahead for the Dominicans and their inexperienced head coach. Egypt to win.
38/10 Iraq | Draw 43/20 | Ukraine 7/10 (19:00)
Iraq and Ukraine do battle at Stade de Lyon in their opening Group B fixture of the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament at the Paris 2024 Games on Wednesday. These two nations are joined in their group by both Argentina and Morocco, who are considered the favourites to progress to the knockout rounds. The 2024 Paris Olympics will represent the sixth time that Iraq has taken part in the Men’s Football Tournament and the first since they competed at Rio 2016 where they failed to progress from the group stage. Iraq has qualified for this year’s tournament after advancing to the semi-finals and finishing third at the 2024 AFC Under-23 Asian Cup under the tutelage of Radhi Shenaishil, who has spent almost two years in charge of the national team. Shenaishil has denied reports from a couple of months ago that he had submitted his resignation and has insisted that he is determined to lead Iraq in Paris, with the 58-year-old expected to implement a philosophy focused on fast counter-attacks and making the most of set-pieces situation.
Ukraine, meanwhile, are preparing for their eighth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era, but this year’s Games will be their first competing at the Men’s Olympics Football Tournament. The Blue and Yellow have qualified for the Paris Games after advancing to the semi-finals of the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, finishing second in their group and beating France in the quarter-finals before being thrashed 5-1 by Spain in the last four. Ruslan Rotan earned 100 caps for Ukraine as a player and has since been a national team youth coach for the past six years, initially working with the Under-18s before working up to his current role with the Under-23s, winning five of his eight games in charge since March. Ukraine have taken part in two friendly matches to prepare for the Paris Games, playing out a 1-1 draw with Egypt before drawing 2-2 with Paraguay last Thursday. Although Rotan has suggested that he cannot be fully satisfied with those warm-up results, the 42-year-old has insisted that his players are “ready” for their opening group-stage fixture. Ukraine to snatch the win.
8/10 Japan | Draw 9/4 | Paraguay 32/10 (19:00)
Three years on from hosting the Covid-delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Japan kick-start their campaign in the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament at the Paris 2024 Games with a group-stage fixture against Paraguay on Wednesday evening. Getting their campaigns underway at Stade de Bordeaux, both nations are competing to advance from Group D, which also includes Mali and Israel. Japan is gearing up for their 11th appearance at the Olympic Games, including their eighth in a row, and they will be aiming to improve on their efforts at Tokyo 2020 – finishing fourth after losing the bronze medal match to Mexico. Go Oiwa was appointed head coach just a few months after Japan fell short of a podium finish in Tokyo and the 52-year-old is now tasked with leading his nation to their first football medal since they claimed bronze at Mexico City in 1968. The Samurai Blue have qualified for this year’s tournament after winning the 2024 AFC Under-23 Asian Cup in May, winning six games out of seven including a slender 1-0 victory over Uzbekistan in the final.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will represent just the third time that Paraguay has taken part in the Men’s Football Tournament and the first since they won a silver medal at Athens 2004. La Albirroja coincidently beat Japan 4-3 in their opening group fixture of that tournament en route to reaching the final, where they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to fellow South Americans Argentina. Veteran coach Carlos Jara Saguier led Paraguay to their aforementioned silver medal in 2004 and, having been re-appointed Under-23s boss in October last year, the 73-year-old will be seeking to emulate that achievement two decades on. Paraguay, who have advanced to the knockout stage in both of their previous two appearances at the Olympics (including Barcelona 1992), enter the Paris Games after failing to win either of their warm-up matches this month, following up a 4-1 defeat to France with a 2-2 draw with Ukraine last week. Japan secure their first three points here.
6/10 France | Draw 11/4 | USA 38/10 (21:00)
A potential battle for Group A supremacy will commence on Wednesday, as France and the USA begin their Paris 2024 Olympics campaigns in the men’s football tournament. The Games hosts welcome their transatlantic counterparts to the Orange Velodrome in Marseille, while Guinea and New Zealand also seek to upset the Olympic apple cart. The 2024 hosts astonishingly failed to qualify for the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 editions before finally making their first 21st-century appearance at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games, which was a forgettable affair for Les Bleus. France lost to both Mexico and Japan – conceding four goals on both occasions – to crash out in the group stage, but if there is any man who knows how to fight fire with fire, it is head coach and all-time leading scorer for Arsenal Thierry Henry. France did not have to go through the rigmarole of qualifying thanks to their status as Olympic hosts, and they have enjoyed a hot friendly streak of three wins and two draws in 2024 thus far, including a 4-1 beating of Paraguay and 7-0 crushing of the Dominican Republic earlier this month.
The USA had already qualified for the Games just by reaching the final, where they demolished the Dominican Republic 6-0 to retain their iron grip on the crown, as well as ending a 16-year exile from the men’s Olympic football tournament. After going out in the group stage in 2008, the Stars and Stripes were not present at the 2012, 2016 or 2020 Games, and their warm-up period has been the definition of a mixed bag; a 2-0 loss to Japan preceded a 1-0 win over Paraguay. Wednesday’s battle will mark the first time in history that France and the USA have crossed paths in the men’s Olympic football competition, but the Yanks’ women’s team ran out 4-2 winners over Les Bleus at London 2012, before going on to win their third gold in succession. France to win.
27/20 Mali | Draw 37/20 | Israel 39/20 (21:00)
Mali square off against Israel in their opening group-stage match of the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament at the Paris 2024 Games on Wednesday evening. Both nations get their campaigns underway at the Parc des Princes and are competing to advance from Group D, which also includes Japan and Paraguay. The 2024 Paris Olympics will represent just the second time that Mali has taken part in the Men’s Football Tournament and the first since they reached the quarter-finals at Athens 2004. Two decades on, Les Aigles Espoirs have qualified for this year’s tournament after reaching the semi-finals and winning the third-placed playoff at the 2023 Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations, beating Guinea 4-3 on penalties. Alou Badra Diallo has been in charge of Mali’s youth team for the past two years and having previously guided AS Otoho to the Congolese top-flight title in 2021-22, the 54-year-old is now targeting success on the international stage. Mali’s current crop of youngsters offers a decent mix of ingenuity and ruthlessness to compete in Paris and Badra Diallo has insisted that he ‘has faith in this generation of players’ who are “capable of achieving great things”.
Israel, meanwhile, is gearing up for their third appearance at the Olympic Games and their first since Montreal 1976 when they reached the quarter-finals, as they did at Mexico City 1968. The Sky Blue and Whites have qualified for the Paris Games after reaching the semi-finals of the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, finishing second in their group and beating Georgia on penalties in the quarter-finals before losing 3-0 to eventual winners England in the last four. Former Charlton Athletic and Maccabi Petah Tikva boss Guy Luzon is enjoying his second spell in charge of the Israeli youth team and the 48-year-old is aiming to turn his side into “one which can be real contenders, rather than just another team that has qualified.” Israel has flattered to deceive over the last 12 months, though, losing six games in a row across all competitions before claiming a much-needed 2-0 win over Maccabi Petah Tikva in a warm-up fixture last Thursday. Mali to win.
Written by Marc Strydom.