The men's and women's Olympic football competitions are major highlights in the world of international football.
While these tournaments don't carry the same prestige as the FIFA World Cup or European Championships, the chance to win a gold medal for their country is something many athletes covet.
At the Paris 2024 Games, the U.S. will compete in both the men's and women's competitions, rubbing shoulders with traditional soccer powerhouses like Spain, Brazil, Argentina and hosts France. With the group stage beginning on July 24, it's sure to be an exciting two weeks of matches.
So how will the schedule work? What will the group stage and knockout rounds be formatted? Read on for more details.
Read more: Will Kylian Mbappe play for France at the Paris Olympics?
Olympic football brackets and schedule explained: How the Paris 2024 format will work
Qualifiers and group stage
Countries must qualify for the Olympic Football Tournament by competing in regional qualification tournaments, with each regional federation determining their own qualification process.
There is 16 teams will take part in the men's tournamentand 12 women's teamsEach tournament will feature representatives from six different football confederations. As hosts, France has earned automatic qualification to both tournaments.
The qualifying teams were then randomly drawn into groups based on seeding: four groups of four countries in the men's tournament, and three groups of four countries in the women's tournament. The group stage was played in a round-robin format, with each team playing each team in their group once. Teams received 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss.
In both competitions, the top two teams from each group after the first three rounds of matches will progress to the knockout stages, which begin with the quarter-finals. In the women's event, the two best third-placed teams from the group stage will also advance to the knockout stages.
Knockout Stage
The knockout phase includes a quarter-final, semi-final and two medal matches: the losers of the semi-finals compete for the bronze medal and the winners meet in the final, with the winner taking the gold medal and the loser taking the silver medal.
These are single-elimination games, with overtime and penalty shootouts, if necessary, to determine the winner.
Although the basic format is simple, each Olympic event has its own unique characteristics that set it apart from other international competitions.
Are there any differences in Olympic soccer rules? How groups and rankings work
FIFA, the world soccer governing body, oversees both the men's and women's Olympic competitions and closely aligns the competition laws and tournament format with the World Cup and other international competitions.
In the Olympic group stage, teams receive 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. To break ties between teams tied during the round-robin group phase, the following criteria are used in order:
- Goal difference in all group matches (goals scored minus goals conceded)
- The total number of goals scored in all group matches.
- Points scored in a match between tied teams.
- The difference in points in a match between tied teams.
- The number of goals scored in matches between tied teams.
- Fair play points based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches.
- Lottery.
Eight teams will progress from the group stage to the knockout rounds: in the men's tournament, the top two teams from each group will progress to the knockout rounds, while in the women's event, the top two teams from each group and the two best-performing third-placed nations will advance to the knockout rounds.
What happens if there's a tie in an Olympic soccer match?
In the group stage, if a match is tied after 90 minutes, each team will be awarded one point.
In the knockout rounds, if the match is tied after 90 minutes of regulation time, an additional 30 minutes of extra time (two 15-minute periods) will be played. If the score is still tied after extra time, a penalty shootout will decide the winner.
The exception is the bronze medal match, in which if the score is tied after regulation time, the match will go directly to a penalty shootout.
How many teams will compete in the soccer competition at the Paris Olympics?
In the 2024 Olympics, the men's and women's tournaments will have different numbers of participating teams.
- male: 16 teams
- woman: 12 teams
While men's soccer has been a near-regular fixture at almost every Summer Olympic Games, women's soccer only made its debut at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The women's tournament initially began with eight teams, expanding to 10 in 2000 and then to 12 for the Beijing Games in 2008. With the growing popularity of women's football worldwide, there are hopes that the tournament will eventually expand to 16 teams.
More details: Men's Tournament Teams | Women's Tournament Teams
How is Olympic soccer different from the World Cup?
Unlike the FIFA World Cup, where the strongest teams and players advance through a global qualifying tournament involving national teams, the Olympics has a more restricted format, meaning that while the Olympics are prestigious, they do not eclipse the World Cup as a global football event.
The World Cup for both men and women will expand to 32 teams, with participation in the knockout stages becoming the pinnacle of international football. However, from the 2026 World Cup, the number of participating teams will increase to 48. The atmosphere is different to the World Championships because the number of participating countries is smaller in the Olympics.
Additionally, in men's Olympic soccer, age limits are set by FIFA and the International Olympic Committee, stating that players must be 23 or younger, with the exception of three “overage” players per team. (The age limit was raised to 24 for the Tokyo Olympics due to pandemic postponements.) For the World Cup, any eligible professional player may be called up to the national team, regardless of age.
Unlike FIFA-run competitions, clubs are not obliged to field men's players at the Olympic Games, which is one of the reasons why Lionel Messi will not be taking part in Paris.
In contrast, the Women's Olympic Games will feature a full senior national team with no age restrictions, emphasising equality with other major international competitions.
How do countries qualify for Olympic soccer?
Each region has its own method for determining which teams will qualify for the Olympics, and most regions hold a special Olympic qualifying tournament called the Men's Under-23 Championship.
In Europe, the process is simple: use the existing Men's Under-21 European Championship to select the four European teams to compete in the Olympics. Additionally, the top European team from the FIFA Women's World Cup will also qualify for the Women's Olympic Tournament.
| region | Men's Olympic Qualifiers | Women's Olympic Qualifiers |
| Africa | 3 (Egypt, Mali, Morocco) | 2 (Nigeria, Zambia) |
| Asia | 3 (Iraq, Japan, Uzbekistan) | 2 (Japan, Australia) |
| Europe | 4 (France (host country), Israel, Spain, Ukraine) | 3 (France (host), Spain, Germany) |
| Oceania | 1 (New Zealand) | 1 (New Zealand) |
| south america | 2 (Argentina, Paraguay) | 2 (Brazil, Colombia) |
| North America | 2 (Dominican Republic, United States) | 2 (Canada, USA) |
