Football

Men's Olympic Power Rankings: Spain and Argentina lead the way; USA soccer and France with plenty to prove

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2d ago

Jul 24, 2024 / 1594 Views

The Olympic Games are almost upon us and with it comes another major soccer tournament with the men's and women's events in Paris. The full tournament will not play out in the capital but also in other French cities as the 16 teams on the men's side look to do battle ahead of the gold medal Game in three weeks' time. After UEFA Euro 2024 and Copa America, get ready for Olympic men's soccer as we take an early stab at ranking all of these sides.

RANK	TEAM	ANALYSIS
1.	Spain	Having just won Euro 2024 in Germany, it is hard to see past Santi Denia's men potentially adding to that success in France. With a squad packed full of talented under-23 players such as Pau Cubarsi, La Roja will aim to add to their 1992 gold medal and go one better than their 1920, 2000 and 2020 silver medals. Do not bet against the Spanish making it a double summer celebration.
2.	Argentina	One of their main rivals for that right will be current World Cup and Copa America titleholders who come into this tournament under Javier Mascherano. Although the Albiceleste boast more title winners from their two most recent major triumphs, they have looked in flaky form pre-Paris which makes them slight underdogs when compared with Spain. It is important to note that Argentina and Spain could be on opposite sides of the knockout phase draw if they both win their groups as expected.
3.	France	Just outside of the favorites for this one are the French hosts who will be led by Thierry Henry on home soil. Les Bleus struggled to get their biggest names available for this one so the squad is talented but possibly not as deep as many previously expected. However, France did go all the way to the 2022 World Cup final and the Euro semifinals this summer so it is not exactly a crisis.
4.	Morocco	World Cup semifinalists back in 2022, it is going to be hard for the Atlas Lions to live up to that billing but they will try. Led by Achraf Hakimi, the Moroccans will fancy themselves to be tricky opponents without being strong favorites themselves.
5.	USA	Following a disastrous Copa America campaign on home soil, the U.S. needs some positive soccer news and the Olympics could provide that platform. Equally, though, Group A behind France could get tricky and an experimental roster puts Marko Mitrovic in a testing situation with some untested internationals.
6.	Japan	With a squad largely constructed out of domestic-based players and a few Europe-based talents thrown in for good measure, Samurai Blue will be keen to build on fourth place from 2012 and 2020 in Tokyo. Go Oiwa's side will be favorites to get out of Group D and then see where they go from there in the knockout phase.
7.	Ukraine	As Euro under-21 semifinalists, this Ukrainian side has the potential to be an underrated force under Ruslan Rotan. Manly drawn from domestic-based players but rich in Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk representation, do not be surprised if this team makes a deep run.
8.	Israel	Also, Euro under-21 semifinalists, the Israelis have a decent roster with some big names like Daniel Peretz, Liel Abada, Oscar Gloukh and Omri Gandelman. With experienced Guy Luzon in charge, we could see another breakout tournament for this generation which is already generating a bit of excitement.
9.	Paraguay	Having qualified ahead of Argentina, the 2004 silver medalists and 1992 quarterfinalists are an outside bet for this one. However, Julio Enciso and Diego Gomez are two of the tournament's potential star turns and could turn La Albirroja into candidates under Carlos Jara Saguier.
10.	Egypt	As the 2012 and 2020 quarterfinalists in their last two Olympic outings, the Egyptians can be tricky opponents at these Games. A largely unknown and almost exclusively domestic-based roster makes them a tricky side to read under Brazilian boss Rogerio Micale.
11.	Guinea	Total debutants at this level, the Guineans came fourth in the 2023 AFCON under-23 comPetition and will be looking to build on that. Captain Naby Keita and his side have some talented players based in Europe which could make them tricky for the likes of group foes France and the USMNT.
12.	Uzbekistan	Debutants at this stage, the Uzbeks have won one AFC Asian Cup and were runners-up twice in the last four editions at under-23 level while they also took bronze in the 2022 Asian Games. Abdukodir Khusanov is highly rated while the overage captain Eldor Shomurodov is a known goal threat.
13.	Mali	The 2004 quarterfinalists in their only previous appearance, this group were the 2023 AFCON under-23 third placed side and could be an emerging force. Although yet to start delivering on that potential at senior level, there could be a new era coming for Malian soccer.
14.	New Zealand	The 2020 quarterfinalists have also experienced the 2008 and 2012 group stage while winning four of five OFC men's qualifying tournaments. The expectation will be another unexpected showing with some interesting names like Ben Old, Sarpreet Singh and the evergreen Michael Boxall as captain.
15.	Iraq	With 2004's fourth place and a 2016 group stage experience to call upon, this Iraqi side was also third at AFC Asian Cup under-23 tournament. How that translates to the Olympics with a largely domestic-based group of players remains to be seen but they are largely an unknown quantity.
16.	Dominican Republic	Given that this is their first-ever appearance at this level, few will know what to expect from the Spain-influenced squad. However, as far as first-time impressions go, the Dominicans will be keen to make a lasting one.