How does Olympics soccer work?

Soccer in the Olympics is different from other competitions like the recent European Championship or Copa America. For one, it involves both men's and women's soccer. Moreover, those two competitions happen at the same time. Therefore, it is a rare opportunity to see some of the top talents in soccer from both the men's and […] Soccer in the Olympics is different from other competitions like the recent European Championship or Copa America. For one, it involves both men’s and women’s soccer. Moreover, those two competitions happen at the same time. Therefore, it is a rare opportunity to see some of the top talents in soccer from both the men’s and women’s games play simultaneously. Yet, there are even stark differences between those two events, namely in who can compete for each team. The Olympics does not take precedence when it comes to fans’ and players’ appreciation of international soccer. The World Cup, Euros and Copa America for both men and women are, by most accounts, the top international tournaments. The Olympics are still a great achievement, though. For women, it ranks second in the list of honors for an international team, and it has been immense disappointment at the last two Olympic games for the United States Women’s National Team, a side that won the Gold Medal in four out of five editions from 1996 to 2012. Smaller international tournament based on the number of teams To understand why the Olympics have their place in the soccer world, one must comprehend the differences between the Olympics compared to other international soccer tournaments. To start, the tournaments are smaller. The men’s side of soccer at the Olympics features 16 teams from each of the six FIFA confederations. Such a wide spread with so few teams prevents many of the major sides from competing. For example, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Uruguay and England, nations steeped in international success both recently and historically, did not qualify. Instead, Iraq, Guinea, Uzbekistan, Israel, Paraguay, Mali Ukraine and the Dominican Republic make up half the teams in the men’s 2024 Olympic soccer tournament. There are still traditionally strong teams like Spain, Argentina, France and Japan with the return of the United States. Our Pick: Includes: Exclusive Premier League games, USMNT/USWNT & Women's World Cup in Spanish, & More Sign Up   Yet, do not expect to see Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Christian Pulisic or any of the Spanish side that just won Euro 2024. The men’s teams at the Olympics are youth teams with three overage players. The cutoff is Jan. 1, 2001. Players must be born on that day or after it to compete at the Olympics. Again, there are three exceptions to that rule per team. Still, clubs and players often want to protect their bodies after demanding club and international seasons. The women’s tournament at the Olympics features more top teams that fans will be familiar with. As there is a significant talent gap in women’s soccer, the best teams breeze through the various qualifying processes. Yet, this is also a small tournament with just 12 teams. Like the men’s World Cup versus the men’s Olympic tournament, there are half the teams competing in Paris. Every confederation gets two spots via qualifying except for the Oceania confederation. The one representative from there is New Zealand, with France occupying the 12th spot. Even with fewer teams, most of the top sides of the world are active. The USWNT is the favorite, while Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Australia, Japan and recent World Cup champions Spain pose major threats. Unlike the men’s tournament, the women’s tournament will feature the top senior squads for each nation. Olympic soccer formatting Once the tournament is rolling it is like any other competition. In both men’s and women’s events, teams split into groups of four. Consequently, there are four groups for the men and three for the women. The top two teams advance to the knockout stage after playing the other three teams in their group once. For the women, the top two third-place teams will also advance to round out the eight teams in the quarterfinals. It is a standard eight-team knockout tournament from that point on. Games remaining tied after 90 minutes will go to a 30-minute extra time period. If a winner does not emerge, games go to penalties. The teams losing in the semifinal will play a necessary third-place game. That game awards the bronze medal while the title game dishes out the gold and silver. In the United States, NBC will have coverage of the Olympics. All games in the soccer tournaments during the Olympics are available on Peacock. There are also several games available on NBC’s TV channels like E! and USA Network, as well as Spanish-language channels Telemundo and Universo. PHOTOS: IMAGO