[ad_1]
The 2024 Paris Olympics have their much-anticipated Opening Ceremony on Friday, but as has been the case for years, actual competition — led by the men’s and women’s soccer tournaments — starts several days earlier.
The United States qualified teams for both tournaments at these Games, and the U.S. men will start things off with a group-stage game against France on Wednesday night; the USWNT then opens up a night later against Zambia.
All teams in the tournaments are hoping to make it to the medal games, which will be played at PSG’s Parc des Princes on Aug. 10 (women) and Aug. 9 (men). Since the Olympics soccer tournaments are a bit different than the competitions fans are most accustomed to seeing, here’s a Q&A on what to expect.
So … is Olympic soccer a big deal?
It absolutely is, especially on the women’s side. For them, only 12 teams qualify and everyone brings their best players — essentially, it’s a mini World Cup. The USWNT will be captained by Lindsey Horan, and will feature younger stars like Trinity Rodman and Naomi Girma, as well as veterans like Rose Lavelle and Crystal Dunn. (There’s no Alex Morgan — more on that later.)
Catarina Macario, who played for new coach Emma Hayes at Chelsea and was hoping to take part in her second Olympics, was a late withdrawal because of a knee injury and was replaced by Lynn Williams.
On the men’s side, it’s different. The men’s tournament isn’t on FIFA’s official calendar, which means that club teams aren’t obliged to release their best players so they can take part in it. To compensate, the Olympics runs an under-23 competition, where the 16 participating teams bring rosters full of the sport’s youngest stars, along with three…
[ad_2]
