The French men's football team is participating in the Olympic Games for the first time since 1996. A special competition with selection rules specific to the Olympic committee.
Europe 1 offers you a focus on the particular functioning of men's football at the Olympics, before the first match of the Blues against Mexico this Thursday.
The supporters of the French football team will fall back on the Olympic team this summer.
After the elimination of the Blues in the round of 16 of the Euro by Switzerland (3-3, 4 tab to 5), a French team very different from that of Didier Deschamps will defend the tricolor colors in a major international competition, the Tokyo Olympics (July 23-August 8).
The French selection will indeed be made up largely of players under 23 years old.
Here is how the Olympic event is organized, which the Blues have not played since 1996.
Qualified thanks to Blueberries
First, the French men's team owes its participation in the Tokyo Olympics to the performance of its Bleuets.
In 2019, the selection of the Espoirs - footballers under 21 - reached the semi-finals of the Euro in this category.
A result which allowed France to qualify directly for the next Olympic Games in men's football.
UEFA awards four tickets to the four semi-finalists of this competition who in 2019 were France, Spain, Germany and Romania.
Under 23s and three "jokers"
To stand out from other international competitions, the Olympic Committee asks participating nations to select only players under 23 years old.
However, it allows the presence of three "jokers" which may be older.
This was the case, for example, of the Brazilian Neymar who won the Rio Games in 2016 at the age of 24.
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For France, it is the coach of the Espoirs Sylvain Ripoll who composed his training despite the reluctance of many clubs, who refused to release their players - the Olympic competition not being part of the Fifa calendar -.
Despite everything, 19 French people will play the tournament including three experienced players: André-Pierre Gignac (35 years old), Florian Thauvin (28 years old) and Téji Savanier (29 years old).
Long suspected, Kylian Mbappé (22) will ultimately not play the Games this year.
Calendar of the France team (in French time):
Mexico-
France
, Thursday July 22 at 10 a.m.
France-
South Africa, Sunday July 25 at 10 a.m.
France-
Japan, Wednesday July 28 at 1:30 p.m.
Sixteen teams competing
In total, 16 countries take part in the men's football Olympics.
The nations are divided into four groups with a particular drawing of lots.
The IOC relies on the performances in the last five Olympic tournaments to rank the participating teams.
France having been absent from recent editions, it found itself in the last hat where the weaker teams are traditionally.
After the draw, the Blues joined Mexico, South Africa and Japan, host country, in Group A.
The four groups of the men's football Olympics:
Group A
Japan
South Africa
Mexico
France
Group B
New Zealand
South Korea
Honduras
Romania
Group C
Egypt
Spain
Argentina
Australia
Group D
Brazil
Germany
Ivory Coast
Saudi Arabia
The method of qualification and composition of the teams means that the Olympic competition is less intense than the other international tournaments. As in a traditional 16-team format, the top two from each group advance to the quarter-finals, followed by the semi-finals and the final, with a match for third place for the bronze medal. Note that the football tournament begins two days before the opening ceremony to allow the competition to finish on time.