Harshit Rawat
As we reach the final seconds to the countdown to the Paris Olympics
2024, The football fixtures at Paris started on 24th July. Top nations
like Argentina, Spain, France along with 13 other nations have their
eyes set on the ultimate prize, the Olympic gold medal.
In the past football at the Olympics has seen the rise of young
talents take the spotlight before dominating world football.
Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr. and Sergio Aguero are to name a
few. All went on to become one of the very best in their respective
playing positions. However, most of the big names at the Euros and
Copa America will not be playing at the Olympics due to upcoming
football seasons in countries like Spain, England, France.
Olympics football was made into a U-23 tournament in 1992 allowing only 3 over-age players to be allowed in the squad Lionel Messi along with Sergio Aguero won the gold in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics,Fans speculated whether Messi would play one more Olympics but that possibility was ruled out as he suffered an ankle
injury in the Copa America final. 17-year-old Lamine Yamal was
spectacular at the Euros clinching the young player of the tournament
but will not be released by Barcelona for the Olympics. Real Madrid
has made the decision they will not allow any player to represent at
the Olympics due the busy upcoming summer fixtures.
However, some big players are going to represent their nations at the
Olympics, Julian Alvarez a treble winner with Manchester City and
World champion will play for Argentina this summer. French veteran
striker Alexandre Lacazette along with sensation Michael Olise will
look to bring the gold to France. World cup underdogs Morocco will
have their star Achraf Hakimi who helped them reach the world cup
semifinals for the first time captaining them at the Olympics. Lastly
Spain will have Barcelona youngsters Fermín López and Pau Cubarsi to
help them secure the double at Paris after winning the Euros in
Berlin.
It’s hard to look past the host nation France and the team Thierry
Henry has assembled for the Olympics with the perfect mix of
youngsters and experienced players. France, Spain and Argentina
remain clear favourites to finish in the podium but Guinea and Morocco
can upset their party by proving to be a dark horse in the tournament.
