Olympic Glory: Football at the Paris 2024 Games With Experts' Predictions

Due to the prestige and weight that the FIFA World Cup has in the sport community, Olympic football is somewhat overlooked these days. Well, Paris 2024 may just be the perfect place for revisiting the history of football at the Olympics since it’s filled with symbolism.

Most notably, football became an Olympic sport in 1900, precisely in Paris, so history now makes a full circle at the Olympic Games 2024, which are hosted in the very same place. Because of the number of matches, it actually starts two days prior to the grand opening. This summer, iconic venues like Parc des Princes and the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard will host the very best that the King of Sports has to offer.

The rules are a bit different than usual for major competitions, though. Teams mainly consist of the U23 selection, with the addition of three players above the age limit per team. So, it won’t exactly be the A teams playing, but it’s not a backup squad either, and that makes it all the more exciting. That’s why we’ve teamed up with BetZillion’s experts in the online betting field to give you some idea of what you could expect.

Brief History of Football at the Olympics

As mentioned, football has been one of the Olympic sports for more than 120 years. Most fans don’t know this, but FIFA is actually the reason why Olympic football teams are limited in terms of age. Upon FIFA’s request, only U23 players can participate in the Olympics, with the addition of up to three players above that limit. It’s done to prevent the Olympics from posing as competition to the World Cup.

That’s how Neymar played for Brazil back in 2016 at the Rio Olympics, even though he was 24 years old at the time. However, clubs also have the right to call off players under contract and not allow them to play, which also commonly happens — like with Mbappe in 2020. The system of Olympic Games football 2024 includes four groups of four teams, with the best two advancing from each group.

Men’s Olympic football was introduced in 1900, and the UK and Hungary are two of the most successful countries, with three gold medals each. Brazil won two in a row, in 2016 and 2020, so it will be exciting to see who will take their place.

Women’s football became an Olympic sport in the US back in 1996, and the US national team is also the most successful one with four gold medals. There’s no age restriction for Women’s Olympic Football.

Paris 2024 Football Tournament Overview

The Paris Olympics will host 16 teams for the football tournament, split into groups of four. Knockout stage matches are played in one leg only. While that goes for the men’s competition, the women’s tournament includes three groups of four teams. The two teams that manage to top their groups advance to the knockouts, along with the two highest-ranked third teams.

So, after three group stage matches are played by each team, the tournament moves on to single-leg quarterfinals. After that, the four remaining teams have two more matches to play, since the losing semi finalists face each other off in the bronze-medal match.

Because of the large number of matches played, it was decided that the football tournament should start two days prior to the official opening of the Olympics. It’s been that way ever since Sydney 2000, and this year’s Olympics kicked-off with a match between Argentina and Morocco on July 24.

The group stage will go on until July 30, followed by the knockout stage, which starts on August 2. After quarter-final matches, the semi-finals take place on August 5, while the grand final is held on August 9th. The final game will be played at Parc des Princes in Paris, one of the seven venues used for the tournament. Here’s a full list of Olympic Games Paris 2024 football stadiums:

• Bordeaux Stadium
• Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
• La Beaujoire
• Nice Stadium
• Velodrome
• Lyon Stadium
• Parc des Princes

The main tournament qualification works differently for each of the six regional bodies. For instance, UEFA teams can qualify through U21 EURO, while CONCACAF holds a qualifying tournament. Women’s teams earned their place through the World Cup rankings, and of course, France qualified automatically as the host nation.

Team Analysis and Predictions

Because of the changes in lineups compared to World Cup teams, making accurate predictions is not a walk in the park. You have to consider different rosters, players making their debuts in major tournaments, and team form.

To give you ground-based analysis and predictions for football at the Olympics, we asked experts over at the BetZillion website for help since they specialize in football betting and online bookies. Their expertise in finding the best sportsbooks and giving insights on all things sports helped us come up with these predictions regarding football at the Paris 2024 games:

Men’s Tournament

We’ve seen some highly competitive tournaments before, but Olympic Games football 2024 might be the most surprising yet. Nevertheless, some teams still stand out as absolute favorites and pretenders to the gold medal. These are our favorites:

1. France — This one seemed obvious to us, and BetZillion’s experts agreed. France is a strong contender to reach the very last game of the competition — they have a great young core led by Michael Olise in the midfield and Castello Lukeba at the back. Add to that Alexandre Lacazzette’s leadership and experience in attacking lines and the fact that legendary Thierry Henry coaches the team, and you’ve got yourself a winning combination! Plus, as we’ve said, football was introduced to the Olympic Games in Paris, so the symbolism is clear.
2. Spain — Spain’s first team has just won the EURO 2024, but their U23 lineup is a solid alternative. They have sent a respectable team to Paris, featuring some young stars, like Villareal’s Alex Baena and Barca’s Fermin Lopez running the midfield. We all know how vital Spain’s midfielders were in their historic championship runs, so this young team shouldn’t be underestimated.
3. Argentina — After winning Copa America for the second time in a row, Argentina didn’t seem to lose any time, and they sent a great team to Paris. Julian Alvarez leads the attack as one of the players with the highest market value in the tournament, while experienced Otamendi in the back provides this team with confidence.

Morocco could be one of the underdogs to watch. They have a great core, most notably Bilal El Khannouss and Achraf Hakimi, who are among the tournament’s most valuable players. The first team also had a great run in the last World Cup, so they are not to be underestimated.

Based on all this, BetZillion’s expert team predicts France to go all the way, winning all three group stage matches along the way, while Spain is also projected to go far. Teams like Morocco and Japan could score lots of goals due to their efficient U21 team performances.

Women’s Tournament

Women’s football teams participate in the Summer Olympics with their full squads, so that might help you place winning predictions. Here are BetZillion’s expert-rated favorites:

1. USA — Without Megan Rapinoe as one of the team’s all-time scoring greats in the Olympic Games, USA’s women's team needed new heroes. They seem to have got it in Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith, both of whom appear to be in excellent form. Plus, the USA easily won the Gold Cup earlier this year, and they had gone unbeaten for the last six friendlies before the tournament started.
2. France — Once again, France should be considered a favorite not only because it’s hosting the tournament but also because of the players and their overall skills. They have some great young stars, including PSG’s Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Lyon’s Delphine Cascarino.
3. Australia — Australia dominantly wrapped up local qualifications by beating Uzbekistan with a total score of 13:0 in a two-legged knockout. Before that, they achieved a maximum of nine points in the group stage by also scoring 13 goals — only this time, it was in three matches. High efficiency might contribute to their lethal scoring ability.

Some of the teams that could make an upset in Paris include Canada and New Zealand. They both had some great performances during friendlies, and could pose a threat to the French W team.

Key Players to Watch

We’ve already mentioned Lacazzette’s impact on the French national team, as well as Otamendi’s influence and experience needed for Argentina’s young core. That’s the beauty of it — teams that combine their U23 teams with those three players who are over the age limit are likely to be the winners. So, here’s a full list of players to focus on, including both the young ones and the experienced ones:

• Julian Alvarez
• Mallory Swanson
• Sophia Smith
• Marie-Antoinette Katoto
• Bilal El Khannouss

Besides seasoned veterans who bring security, winning teams also need great young players. Since we’ve seen stories like Lamine Yamal breaking Pele’s record at age 16, it won’t be much of a surprise if a young player takes the MVP award.

Tactical Trends and Strategies

The use of tactics in football is getting more and more complex by the day. Teams have also learned to adapt to different playing styles, and a perfect instance is possession-based play that Spain utilizes in all categories. They work with their players positionless in younger categories, which helps even their center backs develop a passing technique and ball control.

So, their first team and the Olympic team control the pace of the game through short passes and possession. As a counter to that, teams have learned to apply high pressing on the defensive line to make it more difficult for midfielders to get the ball and create chances. All these nuances can affect the outcome of the Olympic tournament.

Still, it’s already clear how some teams will play. For instance, France and Spain have displayed possession-based football, while countries with a lower-tier lineup could tackle with fast full-back switches and fast transitions.

Expert Predictions

It’s crucial to know a bit about modern football’s tactics and how the game adapted before placing your bets. Team form is also one of the key factors, so that’s why we are going to help you with expert observations and tips from BetZillion:

1. France to finish the group stage as a top seed — Instead of repeating ourselves, make sure to check out our section on France above. Our partners at BetZillion are convinced France could top the group with all three victories. Quality-wise, the odds are definitely on their side since they are favorites in all their matches.
2. Group A goals — One of the easiest predictions to make is that A-group matches will feature lots of goals. New Zealand might be a serious threat to the US or Germany, having scored quite frequently during their U21 and qualification matches.
3. Spain or France will win it all — Based on our experience and BetZillion's expertise, we’ve concluded that either Spain or France could reach the final.
4. Morocco to advance through the group — For those brave enough to try something unique, we encourage betting on specific markets and going with Morocco to advance into knockouts fits the description. Their team has played great in the last couple of months, and they have Achraf Hakimi to stretch the pitch as one of the best full-backs in the world.

Our Take

Overall, we hope we have helped you learn more about Paris 2024 football teams and matches. You can use our advice to join in on the action as a fan or place some winning wagers while following top-tier football.

With the help of industry experts over at BetZillion, you now have access to a thorough breakdown of Paris 2024 Olympic Games football predictions and tips. Use them wisely to make your experience during the Olympics even more exciting.