Host nation France will commence their Olympic Games campaign with a Group A battle against USA on Wednesday. Winners of the 1984 gold, France will be looking to take advantage of home support this time. Here’s a look at the numbers ahead of the match and a prediction.
Though a football powerhouse France have been in the wilderness as far as Olympic Games are concerned. Despite their might in world football, they missed the five editions before Tokyo 2020. The team coached by Thierry Henry will be out to make up for the missed years as even the last edition was disastrous.
There are reasons for French fans to head into this tournament with optimism. France walloped Paraguay and the Dominican Republic 4-1 and 7-0 respectively in the warmups. However, to wrap up their preps, they drew 1-1 with Japan.
United States, like France, will also be here to seek glory. The best they’ve done at this competition was winning the silver in 1904. Marko Mitrovic’s side secured their place here by winning the CONCACAF junior title in 2022. The Yanks’ appearance in the 2024 event ends a 16-year hiatus for the men’s football team.
In 2024, and preparing for this competition, the USA played four friendly matches. Among them was a 2-2 draw with France when they had to come from 2-0 down. However, it didn’t end on a high as they lost 2-0 to Japan in their final warmup game.
This match marks the first time ever that the two nations meet in a football game at the Olympics. As USA yank up their ambitions, they’ll be keen to contribute to the trend of no European nation winning gold since Spain in 1992. A win here could start that off.
These two teams are facing off four months after they met in a high-scoring friendly match. Another gripping encounter is expected as the highlight teams in Group A face off. France U23 may have an edge here, looking at their recent run as well as squad strength.
The fact that they play at home should not be overlooked either. However, USA have shown in recent matches that they are strong in attack. Our prediction for France U23 v USA U23 is for over 2.5 goals and France U23 to win.