USMNT face France in Olympic opener as USWNT handed tough draw

The U.S. men’s team will face France at the Paris Games after being placed in the same group as the host nation, while the U.S. women face tough matches against Australia and Germany.

The USMNT are competing in the Olympics for the first time since Beijing in 2008 and were drawn against France, coached by Thierry Henry, in Group A on Wednesday, as well as New Zealand and the winner of a play-off between teams in the group members of the Asian Football Confederation and the African Football Confederation.

The American women will compete against Germany and Australia, who are ranked fifth and twelfth in the world respectively. The group is completed by Zambia or Morocco, who will face each other in the African play-off next month. The USWNT won four Olympic gold medals between 1996 and 2012, but finished in the last 16 in 2016 and claimed bronze at the Tokyo Games. They also come after a disappointing last 16 result at the 2023 World Cup. Germany were Olympic champions in 2016.

In the men’s draw, each team takes a 22-man squad, with the players required to be U-23, with only three allowed to be over the age limit. The status of French star Kylian Mbappe remains up in the air. Mbappe has said he wants to play in the tournament, but a proposed summer move to Real Madrid could scupper his plans. Real Madrid will not release their players for the Games, although it is unclear whether they will make an exception for Mbappe, who would play a key role.

The tournament starts two days before the opening ceremony of the Games on July 24 and the women’s final closes the tournament on August 10. It is the first time that the women’s final ends the football tournament.