The Olympic Games will bring yet more football to our summer schedules with gold medals up for grabs for both the men’s teams and the women’s teams.
Great Britain will not be involved in the Olympic football this summer: they did not enter a men’s side for qualifying, while the women – represented in qualifying by the Lionesses – narrowly missed out to the Netherlands on goal difference
For the men, the teams involved are restructured to eligible under-23s players with a maximum of three over-age players. There is no such restriction for the women’s tournament.
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The men’s tournament consists of 16 teams, who will play in the old Euros format: four groups of four, with the best two sides in each group progressing to the quarter-finals. It’s a straight knockout from there to the final.
The men's groups are as follows:
- Group A: France, Guinea, New Zealand, USA
- Group B : Argentina, Iraq, Morocco, Ukraine
- Group C: Dominican Republic, Egypt, Spain, Uzbekistan
- Group D: Israel, Japan, Mali, Paraguay
The tiebreak criteria, in order, are: points, goal difference, goals scored, then repeat on head-to-head record, then disciplinary points, then drawing lots.
The quarter-final draw is as follows:
- Winner Group A vs Runner-up Group B
- Winner Group C vs Runner-up Group D
- Winner Group B vs Runner-up Group A
- Winner Group D vs Runner-up Group C
The winners of the first two games will play one another in the semi-finals, as will the winners of the last two games on the other side of the draw.
The group stage kicks off on Wednesday 24th July with the final set to be held on Friday 9th August. Being the Olympics, there will be a bronze medal match held between the two losing semi-finalists the day before the final.
For the women’s tournament, only 12 teams will compete, with three groups of four. The top two sides in each group will progress to the quarter-finals alongside the two best third-placed sides. Effectively it’s like the men's Euro 2024, but cut in half.
The women's groups are as follows:
- Group A: France, Canada, Colombia, New Zealand
- Group B: Australia, Germany, USA, Zambia
- Group C: Brazil, Japan, Nigeria, Spain
The same tiebreak criteria apply here as in the men's tournament.
The quarter-final draw is as follows:
- Winner Group A vs 3rd Group B/C
- Winner Group C vs 3rd Group A/B
- Winner Group B vs Runner-up Group C
- Runner-up Group A vs Runner-up Group B.
The winners of the first two games will play one another in the semi-finals, as will the winners of the last two games on the other side of the draw.
The group stage begins on Thursday 25th July with the final to be held on Saturday 10th August. Again, a bronze medal match will be held between the two losing semi-finalists the day before the final.
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