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Football at Olympics 2024: Schedule, matches, bracket, draw for men’s and women’s soccer in summer Paris Games | Sporting News

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Football at Olympics 2024: Schedule, matches, bracket, draw for men’s and women’s soccer in summer Paris Games | Sporting News


The 2024 Summer Olympics are drawing closer, as Paris gets set to host the competition from late July to early August. Football is always a significant event, with a condensed tournament for both men’s and women’s teams drawing viewers from around the globe.

As per Olympic regulations, the men’s tournament will feature a predominantly youth squad, limited to players under 23 years old (born on or after January 1, 2001) plus three designated over-age players. There is no age restriction on the women’s squads.

Thanks to the European Championships and the Copa America taking place just weeks earlier, convincing superstars from either Europe or South America to participate in the Olympics as an overage player can be difficult, as the physical strain from such a congested fixture list is extreme, and those full international competitions are usually prioritised.

France will see both their men’s and women’s sides participate, given automatic qualification as hosts, while the United States, Spain, and New Zealand were the only nations to have qualified competitively for both competitions.

MORE: When do the 2024 Paris Olympics begin? 

The Sporting News brings you a full roundup of the draw, which takes place on March 20 at 3 p.m. ET, setting the matchups for the summer tournament to come. The draw is available to watch live on FIFA’s official streaming service FIFA+ for free.

Who qualified for 2024 Olympic football?

2024 men’s Olympic qualifiers

Sixteen teams will contest the 2024 Olympic men’s tournament in Paris, of which 12 participants are currently known at the time of the draw.

Three of the final four participants still to be decided will earn their place at the U-23 Asian Cup which takes place from April 15 to May 3.

The final participant will be determined in a playoff that pits the fourth place finisher at the Asian Cup against Guinea, who finished fourth in the U-23 Africa Cup of nations. A date has not been determined for this match.

Notable absentees include Brazil, who did not reach the Olympics for the first time since 2000, finishing third in the table amidst the four-team final stage. Also missing are Mexico, who lost to Guatemala in their qualifying tournament on a penalty shootout, while European giants Portugal, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Belgium all fell well short in a disappointing qualification push.

Nation Confederation Qualified via
France UEFA Host nation
England UEFA 2023 Euro U-21 champions
Spain UEFA 2023 Euro U-21 runners-up
Ukraine UEFA 2023 Euro U-21 semifinalists
Israel UEFA 2023 Euro U-21 semifinalists
United States CONCACAF 2022 CONCACAF U-20 champions
Dominican Rep. CONCACAF 2022 CONCACAF U-20 runners-up
Paraguay CONMEBOL 2024 CONMEBOL Olympic qualifying winners
Argentina CONMEBOL 2024 CONMEBOL Olympic qualifying runners-up
Morocco CAF 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations champions
Egypt CAF 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations runners-up
Mali CAF 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations third place
New Zealand OFC 2023 OFC Olympic qualifying champions
TBD AFC 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup champions
TBD AFC 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup runners-up
TBD AFC 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup third place
TBD (AFC/Guinea) AFC/CAF 2024 AFC-CAF Olympic playoff winners

2024 women’s Olympic qualifiers

Twelve nations will contest the women’s 2024 Summer Olympics football tournament in Paris. Alongside the host nation, all confederations were allotted two places in the competition, with the exception of Oceania which received one.

The final confederation to name its participants was Africa, whose qualifying took place in early April, seeing Zambia and Nigeria qualify over Morocco and South Africa.

The most notable absentee is England, who are ranked second in the world by FIFA and made the World Cup final last summer, but did not qualify for the Olympics. The Lionesses finished second in their UEFA Nations League group, narrowly behind Netherlands by just a single goal on differential, meaning they did not even reach the final stage to have a shot at reaching the Olympics.

Nation Confederation FIFA rank Qualified via
France UEFA 3 Host nation
Spain UEFA 1 2024 UEFA Women’s Nations League winner
Germany UEFA 5 2024 UEFA Women’s Nations League third place
United States CONCACAF 4 2022 CONCACAF W Championship winners
Canada CONCACAF 9 CONCACAF Olympic playoff winner
Japan AFC 7 2024 AFC Olympic qualifiers
Australia AFC 12 2024 AFC Olympic qualifiers
New Zealand OFC 28 2024 OFC Olympic qualifying winners
Nigeria CAF 36 2024 CAF Olympic qualifiers
Zambia CAF 65 2024 CAF Olympic qualifiers

2024 Olympics men’s football schedule, matches

Featuring 16 teams, the men’s side of the bracket features a group stage with four groups of four teams each, with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the eight-team knockout round.

The full match schedule and group standings for men’s football the 2024 Summer Olympics were crafted at the draw on Wednesday, March 30.

Group stage

The to-be-determined teams from Asia are listed below as “AFC #1,” “AFC #2,” and “AFC #3” as the eventual qualifiers will be placed into the draw based on a ranking system using their results at the last five Olympics. The qualifiers will be determined in the U-23 Asian Cup which finishes in early May.

Group A standings

Pos. Nation Pts GP W-L-D GD
1. France 0 0 0-0-0 0
2. USA 0 0 0-0-0 0
3. TBD (AFC/CAF playoff) 0 0 0-0-0 0
4. New Zealand 0 0 0-0-0 0

Group A fixtures

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Wed, Jul. 24 11 a.m. TBD vs. New Zealand Allianz Riviera
(Nice, France)
Wed, Jul. 24 3 p.m. France vs. USA Orange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)
Sat, Jul. 27 1 p.m. New Zealand vs. USA Orange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)
Sat, Jul. 27 3 p.m. France vs. TBD Allianz Riviera
(Nice, France)
Tue, Jul. 30 1 p.m. New Zealand vs. France Orange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)
Tue, Jul. 30 1 p.m. USA vs. TBD Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
(Saint-Etienne, France)

Group B standings

Pos. Nation Pts GP W-L-D GD
1. Argentina 0 0 0-0-0 0
2. Morocco 0 0 0-0-0 0
3. TBD (AFC #3) 0 0 0-0-0 0
4. Ukraine 0 0 0-0-0 0

Group B fixtures

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Wed, Jul. 24 9 a.m. Argentina vs. Morocco Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
(Saint-Etienne, France)
Wed, Jul. 24 1 p.m. TBD vs. Ukraine Groupama Stadium
(Lyon, France)
Sat, Jul. 27 9 a.m. Argentina vs. TBD Groupama Stadium
(Lyon, France)
Sat, Jul. 27 11 a.m. Ukraine vs. Morocco Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
(Saint-Etienne, France)
Tue, Jul. 30 1 p.m. Ukraine vs. Argentina Groupama Stadium
(Lyon, France)
Tue, Jul. 30 1 p.m. Morocco vs. TBD Allianz Riviera
(Nice, France)

Group C standings

Pos. Nation Pts GP W-L-D GD
1. TBD (AFC #2) 0 0 0-0-0 0
2. Spain 0 0 0-0-0 0
3. Egypt 0 0 0-0-0 0
4. Dominican Rep. 0 0 0-0-0 0

Group C fixtures

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Wed, Jul. 24 9 a.m. TBD vs. Spain Parc des Princes
(Paris, France)
Wed, Jul. 24 11 a.m. Egypt vs. Dominican Rep. Stade de la Beaujoire
(Nantes, France)
Sat, Jul. 27 9 a.m. Dominican Rep. vs. Spain Matmut Atlantique
(Bordeaux, France)
Sat, Jul. 27 11 a.m. TBD vs. Egypt Stade de la Beaujoire
(Nantes, France)
Tue, Jul. 30 9 a.m. Dominican Rep. vs. TBD Parc des Princes
(Paris, France)
Tue, Jul. 30 9 a.m. Spain vs. Egypt Matmut Atlantique
(Bordeaux, France)

Group D standings

Pos. Nation Pts GP W-L-D GD
1. TBD (AFC #1) 0 0 0-0-0 0
2. Paraguay 0 0 0-0-0 0
3. Mali 0 0 0-0-0 0
4. Israel 0 0 0-0-0 0

Group D fixtures

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Wed, Jul. 24 1 p.m. TBD vs. Paraguay Matmut Atlantique
(Bordeaux, France)
Wed, Jul. 24 3 p.m. Mali vs. Israel Parc des Princes
(Paris, France)
Sat, Jul. 27 1 p.m. Israel vs. Paraguay Parc des Princes
(Paris, France)
Sat, Jul. 27 3 p.m. TBD vs. Mali Matmut Atlantique
(Bordeaux, France)
Tue, Jul. 30 3 p.m. Paraguay vs. Mali Parc des Princes
(Paris, France)
Tue, Jul. 30 3 p.m. Israel vs. TBD Stade de la Beaujoire
(Nantes, France)

Knockout stage

Quarterfinals

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Fri, Aug. 2 9 a.m. QF2: 1st, Group B vs. 2nd, Group A Parc des Princes
(Paris, France)
Fri, Aug. 2 11 a.m. QF4: 1st, Group D vs. 2nd, Group C Groupama Stadium
(Lyon, France)
Fri, Aug. 2 1 p.m. QF3: 1st, Group C vs. 2nd, Group D Orange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)
Fri, Aug. 2 3 p.m. QF1: 1st, Group A vs. 2nd, Group B Matmut Atlantique
(Bordeaux, France)

Semifinals

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Mon, Aug. 5 12 p.m. Winner, QF1 vs. Winner, QF3 Orange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)
Mon, Aug. 5 3 p.m. Winner, QF2 vs. Winner, QF4 Groupama Stadium
(Lyon, France)

Third Place

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Thu, Aug. 8 11 a.m. Loser, SF1 vs. Loser, SF2 Stade de la Beaujoire 
(Nantes, France)

Final

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Fri, Aug. 9 12 p.m. Winner, SF1 vs. Winner, SF2 Parc des Princes
(Paris, France)

2024 Olympics women’s football schedule, matches

Featuring 12 teams, the women’s side of the bracket features a group stage with three groups of four teams each, with the top two teams in each group qualifying automatically for the eight-team knockout round. Additionally, the two third-place finishers with the most points will advance, using the same tiebreaking methods as the regular group standings.

The full match schedule and group standings for women’s football the 2024 Summer Olympics were crafted at the draw on Wednesday, March 30.

Defending gold medal winners Canada were drawn into Group A alongside hosts France, while the United States were pooled with European powers Germany as well as the Matildas of Australia. Group C is a tough one as well with World Cup winners Spain who are matched up against Japan and Brazil.

Group stage

Group A standings

Pos. Nation Pts GP W-L-D GD
1. France 0 0 0-0-0 0
2. Colombia 0 0 0-0-0 0
3. Canada 0 0 0-0-0 0
4. New Zealand 0 0 0-0-0 0

Group A fixtures

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Thu, Jul. 25 11 a.m. Canada vs. New Zealand Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
(Saint-Etienne, France)
Thu, Jul. 25 3 p.m. France vs. Colombia Groupama Stadium
(Lyon, France)
Sun, Jul. 28 11 a.m. New Zealand vs. Colombia Groupama Stadium
(Lyon, France)
Sun, Jul. 28 3 p.m. France vs. Canada Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
(Saint-Etienne, France)
Wed, Jul. 31 3 p.m. New Zealand vs. France Groupama Stadium
(Lyon, France)
Wed, Jul. 31 3 p.m. Colombia vs. Canada Allianz Riviera
(Nice, France)

Group B standings

Pos. Nation Pts GP W-L-D GD
1. USA 0 0 0-0-0 0
2. Zambia 0 0 0-0-0 0
3. Germany 0 0 0-0-0 0
4. Australia 0 0 0-0-0 0

Group B fixtures

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Thu, Jul. 25 1 p.m. Germany vs. Australia Orange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)
Thu, Jul. 25 3 p.m. USA vs. Zambia Allianz Riviera
(Nice, France)
Sun, Jul. 28 1 p.m. Australia vs. Zambia Allianz Riviera
(Nice, France)
Sun, Jul. 28 3 p.m. USA vs. Germany Orange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)
Wed, Jul. 31 1 p.m. Zambia vs. Germany Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
(Saint-Etienne, France)
Wed, Jul. 31 1 p.m. Australia vs. USA Orange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)

Group C standings

Pos. Nation Pts GP W-L-D GD
1. Spain 0 0 0-0-0 0
2. Japan 0 0 0-0-0 0
3. Nigeria 0 0 0-0-0 0
4. Brazil 0 0 0-0-0 0

Group C fixtures

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Thu, Jul. 25 11 a.m. Spain vs. Japan Stade de la Beaujoire
(Nantes, France)
Thu, Jul. 25 1 p.m. Nigeria vs. Brazil Matmut Atlantique
(Bordeaux, France)
Sun, Jul. 28 11 a.m. Brazil vs. Japan Parc des Princes
(Paris, France)
Sun, Jul. 28 1 p.m. Spain vs. Nigeria Stade de la Beaujoire
(Nantes, France)
Wed, Jul. 31 11 a.m. Japan vs. Nigeria Stade de la Beaujoire
(Nantes, France)
Wed, Jul. 31 11 a.m. Brazil vs. Spain Matmut Atlantique
(Bordeaux, France)

Knockout stage

Quarterfinals

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Sat, Aug. 3 9 a.m. QF2: 1st, Group B vs. 2nd, Group C Parc des Princes
(Paris, France)
Sat, Aug. 3 11 a.m. QF3: 1st, Group C vs. 3rd place (A/B) Groupama Stadium
(Lyon, France)
Sat, Aug. 3 1 p.m. QF4: 2nd, Group A vs. 2nd, Group B Orange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)
Sat, Aug. 3 3 p.m. QF1: 1st, Group A vs. 3rd place (B/C) Stade de la Beaujoire
(Nantes, France)

Semifinals

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Tue, Aug. 6 12 p.m. Winner, QF2 vs. Winner, QF4 Groupama Stadium
(Lyon, France)
Tue, Aug. 6 3 p.m. Winner, QF1 vs. Winner, QF3 Orange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)

Third Place

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Fri, Aug. 9 9 a.m. Loser, SF1 vs. Loser, SF2 Groupama Stadium
(Lyon, France)

Final

Date Time (ET) Match Location
Sat, Aug. 10 11 a.m. Winner, SF1 vs. Winner, SF2 Parc des Princes
(Paris, France)
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