The Paris 2024 Olympics kick off next week, with football or soccer as some call it set to be one of the main events.
Euro 2024 and Copa America 2024 may be over but there is still more international football to consume this summer.
The Paris 2024 Olympics starts on July 26, 2024, and one of the big events to watch is football, both in the men’s and women’s competitions.
Football or soccer as some call it has been a part of all the summer Olympic games except for the 1896 and 1930 editions.
Football is one of the major competitions at the Summer Olympics, which is not surprising because the sport itself is the most popular in the world.
Football is one of the most watched sports at the Olympics and it is just behind Athletics, Aquatics and Gymnastics.
The first football event at the Summer Olympics was in the 1900 edition, and it has been ever-present except for the 1930, which was the year of the inaugural World Cup.
However, it was just the men who were allowed to play until the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where the women’s game debuted.
It is also important to note that football is the only sport that starts before the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
The Paris Olympics opening night is July 26, but football will start two days before, which has been the case since the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
The basic football rule applies in Olympic football, with each team fielding 11 players, including a goalkeeper.
The duration of the match is also 90 minutes of 45 each, with a 15-minute half-time break. However, from the quarter-final onwards, matches could go beyond 90 minutes if there is no winner in normal time.
It is also important to note that, unlike other major football competitions, only players aged 23 or under are allowed to play football at the Olympics.
However, teams are also allowed to include three overage players in the 18-man squad if they wish.
Due to the FIFA World Cup, most big countries, especially European football giants do not send their best to the Olympics.
Still, there have been a few big football nations at the Olympics. Spain won the men’s event in 1992, which took place in Barcelona.
Four years later in Atlanta, Nigeria’s Dream Team had arguably the most popular run of all time in Olympic football as they claimed gold, beating Brazil and Argentina on their way.
Another African nation Cameroon also claimed gold in 2000. In 2008, a young Lionel Messi led Argentina to gold, with Neymar Jr repeating the same trick for Brazil eight years later in Rio de Janeiro.
Sixteen teams will compete for gold, with France kicking off proceedings against the United States on July 24, 2024.
The sixteen teams have been divided into four groups of four teams each, with each team guaranteed to play at least three matches.
Group A
France
USA
Guinea
New Zealand
Group B
Argentina
Morocco
Iraq
Ukraine
Group C
Spain
Egypt
Dominican Republic
Uzbekistan
Group D
Japan
Paraguay
Mali
Israel
It is hard to look past France, and that is not because they are hosts. Coached by Arsenal legend Thiery Henry, France have a stacked squad good enough to even win Euro 2024.
The players in the squad were not part of the France team that reached the semifinal but some of them could have easily been included.
The likes of Michael Olise and Ryan Cherki will definitely cause trouble for many defences in Paris.
France are backed to win gold at 3.20 at <u>Housebets</u>, which could be worth putting money on, considering they have the best squad.
But France will likely be challenged by Spain and Argentina. The Spanish team reached the U-21 Euro final last year but will hope to go one step further at the Olympics.
La Roja do not need to look further for inspiration as their senior men’s national team just won the Euro.
Spain also have enough quality in their ranks, even though two of their brightest prospects who led them to glory in Germany will not be part of the squad.
Santi Denia’s men are the second favourite to win gold after France and are priced at 3.55 at Housebets to win their second gold medal in the competition’s history.
Meanwhile, Argentina are no stranger to winning gold medals in this competition, having won back-to-back golds in 2004 and 2008.
Like France and Spain, Javier Mascherano’s men also have a stacked squad with four members of the 2022 World Cup winning team in their squad.
Julian Alvarez, Nicolas Otamendi, Geronimo Rulli and Thiago Almada were all part of the team that triumphed in Qatar two years ago and have been included in the Olympics squad.
Mascherano’s men are priced at 3.90 at <u>Housebets</u> to win a third gold medal when the competition kicks off next week.
France- 3.20
Spain- 3.55
Argentina- 3.90
Morocco- 11.00
Paraguay- 20.80
USA- 21.70
To bet on the Olympic games at <u> Housebets.com</u>. Open an account, and deposit any of your preferred currency into your account.
Afterwards, go to the Sportsbook section on the site, click on Football and select Olympic Games to bet on all the matches.
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NB: The odds provided in this article are subject to change and this is not financial advice.
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