The 2024 Olympics are just a few months away, and this afternoon, the world will learn the groups for the football tournaments on the men’s and women’s side in the Olympic Draw. The United States will have teams competing in both tournaments, making this draw extra special for American fans as they prepare to descend upon Paris this summer.
The women’s tournament will feature 12 teams who were placed into 4 pots of 3 teams each based on the FIFA World Rankings that were released last week. The USWNT qualified for the Olympics by winning the 2022 Concacaf W Championship. The 4th ranked team in the world will be in Pot 1 with hosts France and Spain, the 2023 Women’s World Cup champions.
The USWNT will either be in Group B or C and placed at B1 or C1, with the hosts automatically drawing A1. If they are in B1, they will play their first group stage match in Nice and the remaining 2 group stage matches in Marseille. Should they be drawn into C1, they will play its first two matches in Nantes and the final group stage match in Bordeaux.
The women’s football Olympic field still has two teams that are to be determined. African qualifying will be completed during the April international window, where Morocco will face Zambia and South Africa will face Nigeria to determine those final 2 spots.
The pots for the women’s tournament:
Pot 1 – France, Spain, USA
Pot 2 – Germany, Japan, Canada
Pot 3 – Brazil, Australia, Colombia
Pot 4 – New Zealand, Zambia/Morocco, Nigeria/South Africa
Because teams cannot be drawn with anyone from their confederation, Germany is guaranteed to be in the group with the USWNT. The USWNT cannot be drawn with Canada, and Germany cannot be drawn with France and Spain.
On the men’s side, the USMNT U-23s are in the Olympic field for the first time since 2008. They qualified for the tournament by winning the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship. In the Olympics, men’s teams are U-23 teams with the allowance of up to 3 overage players.
The men’s tournament will have 16 teams placed into 4 pots of 4 teams each based on past sporting performance. The ranking system is based on the total points obtained in the previous 5 Olympic tournaments, dating back to 2004. Because of that, the USMNT U-23s are in Pot 3.
Four teams are still to be determined. The 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup takes place in Qatar April 15th through May 3rd, with the top 3 finishers qualifying for the field and the 4th place finisher playing Guinea, who finished 4th in African qualifying, in a playoff to determine the final spot.
The pots for the men’s tournament:
Pot 1 – France, AFC 1, AFC 2, Argentina
Pot 2 – Spain, New Zealand, Paraguay, Morocco
Pot 3 – USA, Egypt, AFC 3, Mali
Pot 4 – Dominican Republic, Israel, Ukraine, AFC 4/Guinea
Finally, we’ll know who the USWNT and the USMNT U-23s will face in the Olympics this summer. Tune in and watch the drama unfold.
How to Watch
Advertised Kick-off Time: 3:00pm Eastern, 12:00pm Pacific
Venue: Le Pulse Building, Saint-Denis, France
Available TV: N/A
Available streaming: FIFA+
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