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The largest athletic competition in the world fittingly includes the most popular sport in the world.
With the exception of one year — 1932, in which no tournament was held — men’s soccer has been a part of the Summer Olympics since 1900, just four years after the first modern Olympic Games in Athens.
During that time, the sport’s most historically accomplished countries have taken part in the event, as well as some of the best players of their respective eras, from Lionel Messi to Neymar to Samuel Eto’o.
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But unlike many of the sports that will be contested over the next several weeks at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning a gold medal at the Games isn’t regarded as the most prestigious, sought-after accomplishment in international soccer.
The reason for that is pretty simple: an overwhelming majority of the world’s best players don’t compete in the Olympics, which now exists, on the men’s side, as an under-23 event.
Why is that the case? Here’s more on Olympic men’s soccer and its history heading into the 2024 Paris Olympics:
Why is men’s soccer U23 at the Olympics?
If viewers are tuning in to men’s soccer games at the 2024 Paris Olympics hoping to see the likes of Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne or most of soccer’s top superstars globally, they’re unfortunately out of luck.
In some instances, like with Ronaldo, Kane, Haaland and De Bruyne, their countries aren’t in the Olympics for men’s soccer. But beyond that, men’s soccer at the 2024 Paris Olympics and at Olympics for the past 30 years has been an under-23 competition.
The rule came to be in advance of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. At the time, the Olympics was undergoing fundamental changes, shifting from a strictly amateur event to one that allowed professional athletes to compete (the 1992 Games, perhaps most famously, featured the “Dream Team”).
Given that switch, FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, put various barriers in place for players competing in the Olympics, which it didn’t want to possibly usurp the World Cup as the premier international soccer showcase. One of those measures was an age restriction. Additionally, since the Olympics are not a FIFA-sanctioned competition, club teams have the right to deny a player from taking part. Many clubs will forbid their players from competing in the Olympics and the Euros or Copa America in a single summer.
This reality makes men’s soccer drastically different than women’s soccer at the Olympics, as the women’s side has no such age limits.
Not every men’s soccer player in the Olympics will be under 23 years old. Each country has up to three spots on the roster to grant to overage players.
Most notably, France was potentially going to use one this year on Mbappe — but his new club team, Real Madrid, would not allow him to compete in the Olympics.
“My club’s position was very clear, so from that moment on, I think I [knew] I won’t be taking part in the Games,” Mbappe said to reporters in June at Euro 2024. “That’s just the way it is, and I understand that too. I’m joining a new team in September, so it’s not the best way to start an adventure. I’m going to wish this French team all the best. I’m going to watch every game. I hope they’ll win the gold medal.”
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Olympic men’s soccer champions
Though men’s soccer made its first appearance all the way back at the 1900 Paris Olympics, here’s a list of the gold-medal-winning countries at the Olympics since the age limit was introduced at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics:
- 1992: Spain
- 1996: Nigeria
- 2000: Cameroon
- 2004: Argentina
- 2008: Argentina
- 2012: Mexico
- 2016: Brazil
- 2020: Brazil
Brazil, the two-time reigning gold medalist, will not participate in the men’s tournament this year.
USMNT Olympics schedule
The United States men’s national soccer team will be competing in the Olympics this year for the first time since 2008.
The Americans are in Group A of the competition, with the top two teams from the four-team pod advancing to the knockout stage of the tournament. If they win the group, they’ll play the runner-up from Group B, which includes Argentina, Morocco, Iraq and Ukraine. If they finish second, they’ll play the winner of Group B.
Here’s the USMNT’s schedule for the 2024 Paris Olympics:
- Wednesday, July 24: vs. France, 3 p.m. ET
- Saturday, July 27: vs. New Zealand, 1 p.m. ET
- Tuesday, July 30: vs. Guinea, 1 p.m. ET
USMNT Olympics roster
Given the age restrictions, the USMNT roster doesn’t feature many of the team’s most familiar names, be it Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna or Weston McKennie.
Two of the Americans’ exceptions went to players from the current USMNT roster – defenders Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson. The third and final exception was used on Djordje Mihailovic, a standout midfielder for the Colorado Rapids of MLS.
Here’s a look at the full 18-player USMNT roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics:
Goalkeepers
- Patrick Schulte
- Gaga Slonina
Defenders
- Maximilian Dietz
- Nathan Harriel
- Miles Robinson
- John Tolkin
- Caleb Wiley
- Walker Zimmerman
Midfielders
- Gianluca Busio
- Benjamin Cremaschi
- Jack McGlynn
- Djordje Mihailovic
- Tanner Tessmann
Forwards
- Paxten Aaronson
- Taylor Booth
- Duncan McGuire
- Kevin Paredes
- Griffin Yow
