Euro 2024 might be over but there is more international football to look forward to before competitive club football gets started again.
Wednesday July 24 will see international football at the Olympics kick off when Uzbekistan face off against Spain to open the Olympics’ football competition.
Clubs are not obliged by FIFA to send their star players and squads are only allowed to call up three over-23 players but despite these restrictions, there is still some exciting talent who will compete for gold in Paris.
Here are some of the pros who will feature at the tournament…
Julian Alvarez, Argentina
At only 24-years-old, there aren’t many players who have as impressive a trophy count as Manchester City’s forward. He has a shot at adding an Olympic gold this summer as one of the more senior players in the squad, and their biggest attacking threat.
Alvarez will spearhead a team full of Argentinian talent. Ezequiel Fernandez is the new midfield prospect coming out of Boca Juniors, while Claudio Echeverri has had a similar path to Alvarez, joining Man City before being sent back to River on loan to continue his progress.
Achraf Hakimi, Morocco
Hakimi is arguably the biggest name in this 16-team tournament. He has been a crucial player for every club he has been at since leaving Real Madrid as a youngster. Initially starring at Borussia Dortmund, before excelling as an attacking wing-back in Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan side, which then earned him a move to Paris Saint-Germain, the city where he will be representing his country this summer.
Morocco have recently been the shining light in African football, becoming the first team from the continent to reach a World Cup semi-final at Qatar 2022, but Hakimi will want to become a Moroccan legend and winning gold will undoubtedly do that.
Monaco’s Eliesse Ben Seghir burst onto the scene in Ligue 1 in 2022, and Ilias Akhomach has had somewhat of a breakthrough season at Villarreal, but all eyes will be on PSG’s right back to lead them to glory.
Michael Olise, France
Olise arrives to this international competition following a move to Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace. He has continuously improved his numbers year-on-year in south London, which tempted Chelsea to try and sign him in 2023, but it fell through and a year later Bayern swept in.
He has been given the responsibility of being one of France’s main men by manager Thierry Henry and after being left out of the squad for Euro 2024, will be eager to deliver in front of a home crowd before starting a new life in Germany.
The London-born forward is not the only supremely talented forward in Henry’s squad as he is linking up with former teammate Jean-Phillippe Mateta, and ex-Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette in a frightening line-up that is strongly tipped to add a second gold medal come August 10.
Nicolas Otamendi, Argentina
Otamendi has revived his reputation after a somewhat difficult spell at Manchester City, where he was often seen as the weak link in an extremely strong team. That is not the case now, and for his club Benfica and Argentina, he is not only a reliable defensive presence but a really important leader. He will be the senior head among this young Argentina squad looking to win gold.
Mohamed Elneny, Egypt
Recently called an end to his career as an Arsenal player after his contract expired. He was a fan favourite at The Emirates, but for Egypt he has a far more important role and will be aiming to deliver an unlikely Olympic gold for his country.
Lesley Ugochukwu, France
He has had a stop-start career at Chelsea so far and has been plagued with injuries. With Chelsea looking to dip in the market again, this tournament could be a timely reminder to everyone of how much potential he has.
Alexandre Lacazette, France
Former Arsenal star Lacazette will finally get a chance to represent his country at a major tournament. He has 46 league goals since returning to his boyhood club, Lyon, and he will be hoping to lead France to an Olympic success, in what has been a successful latter period in his career.
Jean-Phillippe Mateta, France
Although Lacazette has been a lethal finisher back in France, there were not many more clinical strikers across Europe since February than Crystal Palace’s Jean-Phillippe Mateta. The 27-year-old has a new-found confidence under Palace boss Oliver Glasner, and if he is able to continue his form at this international tournament, France might be too hot to handle.
Naby Keita, Guinea
Guinea are not a huge footballing nation but they do have a Champions League winner in their Olympic squad. Keita didn’t have too big of a role to play in Liverpool’s successful run to lifting the trophy in Madrid in 2019, but he has managed to fight off injuries to get fit for this tournament and might have extra motivation to show the world what he could have done if was available more often.
Julio Ensico, Paraguay
He had to plead to take part at the Olympics but the tricky Paraguayan will be in Paris and is the South American side’s most exciting prospect. He will be the main man in attack but is not the only name that Premier League fans will recognise for Paraguay, with former West Ham defender Fabian Balbuena playing in defence.
Sergi Gomez, Spain
What could have been for Sergi Gomez. Instead of being in this Olympic squad, he could have been one of the key players in Spain’s European Championship win, but he only played a handful of games at Manchester City and was not selected.
He is now at Real Sociedad and will, like many in this tournament, be eager to show the world what he can do, and why City wanted to recruit him in the first place. Originally an attacking midfielder, he has dropped back to left-back but his attacking instincts haven’t left him, and he can be a threat for Spain.
Pau Cubrasi, Spain
Someone who was even closer to getting into Spain’s Euros-winning side was Cubrasi. The 17-year-old just missed out and has instead been called up for this Olympics, which will surely only be the start of seeing this impressive defender star in that famous red shirt. He became a key part of Xavi’s Barcelona side, due to his great defensive ability but also his quality on the ball at such a young age.
Eric Garcia, Spain
Pairing alongside Cubrasi is likely to be the man the Barcelona youngster replaced. Eric Garcia, once of Manchester City before moving to Barcelona, has revived his career at Girona, who were the surprise package in La Liga last season and qualified for the Champions League.
He has reduced the number of errors he makes, and has become more imposing as a defender, and although now returning to Barcelona, after his loan ended, he will likely be looking for a new club after these Olympic games.
Junior Firpo, Dominican Republic
The Leeds defender’s appearance at this year’s Olympics also marks the first for the Dominican Republic football team. This is unfamiliar territory but the qualification to this summer’s showpiece in Paris helped persuade Firpo to represent the Caribbean nation, as it did for Real Madrid youngster Peter Gonzalez.
He has played in the Premier League and for Barcelona so his leadership and guidance over this young crop of emerging players will be key.
Gabriel Slonina, USA
The Chelsea goalkeeper spent last season on loan at Belgian club Eupen and both the Blues and USMNT have high hopes for the 20-year-old goalkeeper. He arrived in west London with huge expectations, and this Olympic games will be a good chance to see how he has developed and a glimpse of what his level could be in the future.
FEATURED IMAGE: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
