Kylian Mbappe had expressed a desire to participate in this year's Olympics in his hometown, and there were expectations that Lionel Messi might represent Argentina, but the men's football tournament at the Paris Games will largely lack star power. As the captain of France and the nation's most renowned athlete, Mbappe's inclusion in coach Thierry Henry's Olympic squad would have significantly enhanced both the organizers' and the team's prospects of securing gold. However, Mbappe, now 25, had to concede that his new club, Real Madrid, would not permit his participation immediately following his stint with the French team that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2024 in Germany.
This poses a challenge for the men's football competition, which commences on Wednesday and concludes on August 9. Clubs are not mandated to release players for a tournament outside the official FIFA international window, which directly follows the European Championship and Copa America. Messi, aged 37 and a member of the Argentina team that won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008, opted out of Javier Mascherano's squad for Paris shortly before the Copa America in the United States, which Argentina won. "I discussed the situation with Mascherano, and we quickly agreed," Messi informed ESPN. "At my age, I prefer not to overextend myself and need to make judicious choices."
Henry, a legendary French footballer, also faced the disappointment of several players he had hoped to recruit. "The last time I encountered so many refusals was during high school," he quipped while unveiling a team featuring the most recognizable names such as Alexandre Lacazette, the 33-year-old Lyon striker, and new Bayern Munich signing Michael Olise. The competition is limited to players under 23 years old, with each squad allowed a maximum of three overage players. In addition to the absence of superstar names, the tournament also misses Brazil, the gold medalists in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo three years ago, who were defeated by Spain in the final. Brazil failed to qualify, but Argentina is optimistic about their chances of securing a sixth consecutive Latin American victory in the men's football gold medal.
"Our goal is to compete and advance as far as possible, and I believe we have a team capable of achieving that," coach Mascherano, a two-time Olympic gold medalist as a player, stated in an interview with CONMEBOL. With Julian Alvarez, the Manchester City striker who won the 2022 World Cup and the recent Copa America, Argentina boasts one of the most prominent players in the competition. Argentina is grouped with Iraq, Ukraine, and Morocco, which has secured the services of Paris Saint-Germain right-back Achraf Hakimi. France begins its campaign against the United States before facing Guinea and New Zealand in Group A. Gold medalists in 1992 and silver medalists in Tokyo, Spain aims for gold following their victory at Euro 2024. Luis de la Fuente, coach of Spain's Euro-winning team, led the squad to the final at the last Olympics, with Santi Denia now in charge. Prominent names from the European Championship like Lamine Yamal are absent, but another prodigious young Barcelona talent, 17-year-old center-back Pau Cubarsi, will participate.
"He is truly honored to gain the experience of the Olympics. You never know if you'll get another opportunity, even at such a young age," Denia told Marca about Cubarsi. Spain is grouped with Uzbekistan, the Dominican Republic, and Egypt, which did not secure the services of Liverpool's Mohamed Salah. Asian Under-23 champions Japan, who named a squad without overage players, are in Group D alongside Paraguay, Mali, and Israel. Matches will not only be held in Paris but also in Nantes, Bordeaux, Nice, and Saint-Etienne. The semifinals will take place in Lyon and Marseille, with the final hosted at Paris's Parc des Princes.
