The 2024 Olympics kick off next week, and soccer will be one of the first sports to get underway before the opening ceremony. The men's soccer tournament will see 16 teams compete for the gold medal and provide a chance for promising young players to make a name for themselves.
Group A of the men's tournament features hosts France, along with the United States, Guinea and New Zealand. Each team will be dreaming of bringing home a medal from France, but the path to the podium will be tough as they will have to beat each other.
schedule
Wednesday, July 24
Guinea v New Zealand
France vs. America
Saturday, July 27
New Zealand v USA
France v Guinea
Tuesday, July 30
USA vs Guinea
New Zealand v France
France
France comes into the tournament as the gold medal favorite and with the pressure of hosting the tournament on home soil. Led by coach Thierry Henry and captain Alexandre Lacazette, expectations are high and they have fielded a strong squad in preparation for hosting the tournament. France is unbeaten in 2024, including a draw against the USMNT U-23, which has French fans feeling increasingly excited.
Being the host nation and one of the favourites means a target comes with it and every team in this group will be giving their all for France, they will just have to hang in there and hope they hang in there to hear La Marseillaise played at the medal ceremony.
Odds to win group: favorite
Notable People: Michael Oliseh has recently moved to Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace and is looking to make his breakthrough in home competition.
united states of america
The USMNT U-23s are playing in the Olympics for the first time since 2008, so medal expectations may not be as high. That doesn't mean they won't win a gold, silver or bronze medal at the tournament, but the team may be more comfortable in a high-pressure environment. Coach Marko Mitrovic has several players on his team who have been together for the past few years. Captain Walker Zimmerman is one of three overage players brought in to provide leadership and stability to help the team in its quest for the podium.
They have a very tough road ahead of them, but they can still be seen as a favorite to win their group, likely by beating France in their opening match, and how they respond to that atmosphere and play will be a barometer of how the tournament goes for the Americans.
Odds to win group: In competition
Notable People: Kevin Paredes will be expected to provide creativity on the wing and help the team generate goal-scoring chances.
Guinea
Few know about Guinea, but they have worked very hard to get here. They qualified for the Olympics through an intercontinental playoff and this is their first time competing in a men's Olympic tournament, so they have a deep gratitude for the experience. They have some tough players and Guinea will want to use this tournament to show the world that great football is played in their country. Their only loss in 2024 was against the United States in a friendly, and they will be looking to grow more confident as the tournament progresses and put themselves in a position to bring home a medal.
Odds to win group: Need help
Notable People: Aliu Balde was recently capped by the senior national team and will be looking to be Guinea's star forward in the tournament.
Aotearoa New Zealand
Aotearoa New Zealand are here to steal the show. They finished second in Tokyo 2020 in a group with South Korea, Honduras and Romania. They then lost to Japan on penalties in the quarter-finals. This time around, they want to do better and show that the future of New Zealand football is bright. They are a formidable team that usually holds opponents back defensively to score goals and secure victory. Even in this tournament, they are expecting some low-scoring matches and hoping that a couple of 1-0 wins will be enough to send them back to the knockout stage to advance to the medal round.
Odds to win group: Dark Horse
Notable People: Jay Herdman, son of former Canada men's and women's national team coach John Herdman, who now heads Toronto FC, is hoping to use the tournament to break into the senior New Zealand national team.
Who will advance from Group A? Which match is the most interesting for you? Let us know in the comments.
