The US males’s crew will face France on the Paris Video games after being drawn in the identical group because the host nation, whereas the US girls face powerful matchups towards Australia and Germany.
The USMNT are competing on the Olympics for the primary time since Beijing in 2008 and have been drawn on Wednesday alongside France, who shall be coached by Thierry Henry, in Group A. Additionally within the group are New Zealand and the winner of a playoff between groups from the Asian Soccer Confederation and the African Soccer Confederation.
The US girls face Germany and Australia, ranked fifth and twelfth on this planet respectively. The group shall be accomplished by both Zambia or Morocco, who face one another within the African playoff subsequent month. The USWNT gained Olympic gold 4 occasions between 1996 and 2012 however went out within the final eight in 2016 and claimed bronze on the Tokyo Video games. They’re additionally coming off a disappointing last-16 exit on the 2023 World Cup. Germany have been Olympic champions in 2016.
The Paris Video games will mark the primary match for the USWNT’s new coach, Emma Hayes. The USWNT and Germany have met as soon as earlier than on the Olympics, when the People beat their European rivals within the 2004 semi-finals. Australia reached the semi-final of final 12 months’s World Cup and misplaced to the US 4-3 within the bronze medal match on the final Olympics.
Within the different teams within the girls’s draw, holders Canada face hosts France, Colombia and New Zealand in Group A. In Group C, Brazil and Japan will face the winner of a playoff between Nigeria and South Africa. The highest two groups in every group advance to the quarter-finals, alongside the 2 finest third-placed groups.
Within the males’s draw, every crew will carry a 22-man roster the place the gamers should be U-23, with solely three being allowed over the age restrict. The standing of French star Kylian Mbappé stays up within the air. Mbappé has mentioned he desires to play within the match, however a proposed summer time switch to Actual Madrid might scupper his plans. Actual Madrid won’t be releasing their gamers for the Video games, although it’s unclear if they’ll make an exception for Mbappé, who can be a key participant.
“The Olympics. .. my dad would wake me up at night time to look at Carl Lewis. .. I cried after we didn’t qualify, even when I had gained the World Cup earlier than,” Henry mentioned on the draw ceremony. “We haven’t gained it in 40 years. It’s not simple, however we’ll attempt all the things.”
Argentina have been drawn in Group B of the boys’s match with Morocco, Ukraine and a qualifier to be confirmed from the AFC. Spain, the runners-up in Tokyo, are in Group C together with Egypt, Dominican Republic and one other qualifier from the AFC, which is but to be confirmed. Group D options Paraguay, Mali and Israel in addition to a remaining qualifier from the AFC. The highest two groups in every group will progress to the quarter-finals.
The match will start two days earlier than the opening ceremony of the Video games on 24 July, with the ladies’s remaining concluding the match on 10 August. It’s the first time the ladies’s remaining will conclude the soccer match.