Nice Britain might not have a soccer group on the 2024 Olympics, however three British bosses can be there – in addition to some little-known bloke referred to as Thierry Henry.
Put in because the supervisor of France’s underneath 21s final yr, Henry can also be boss of their Olympic group – on condition that they’re internet hosting the Video games and are heavy favourites to win gold, no strain, Titi…
Alexandre Lacazette, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Michael Olise are all chosen for the 18-man squad. France’s first sport is in opposition to the USA on the opening day of the soccer match, at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome on July 24 – the ultimate is on the Parc des Princes in Paris on August 9.
Brazil did not qualify for the boys’s match, regardless of successful gold on the final two Olympics, however the group stage does supply up clashes of the titans just like the Dominican Republic vs Uzbekistan, Mali vs Israel and Iraq vs Ukraine, whereas Guinea tackle a New Zealand aspect managed by former Watford defender Darren Bazeley. Javier Mascherano is in control of Argentina .
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Favourites for the ladies’s gold are the USA, led by Emma Hayes, who departed Chelsea two months in the past to maneuver Stateside on a contract that runs till the 2027 World Cup. She’ll try and wrestle the Olympic prize off fellow Englishwoman Bev Priestman, who guided Canada to gold in Tokyo.
France’s feminine hopes relaxation with Herve Renard, mastermind of Saudi Arabia’s shock win over Argentina on the males’s World Cup in 2022, however England’s poor leads to the Nations League imply Nice Britain haven’t certified, in contrast to in Tokyo. It’s the newest chapter in GB’s in-out relationship with Olympic soccer, a contest that was bizarre from the beginning…
The Olympic rings (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
Soccer wasn’t formally a part of the primary Olympics in 1896, after a number of of the invited groups didn’t flip up. A match did happen, however bizarrely it was forbidden to be reported, with Greek Crown Prince Constantine eager to maintain all unofficial sports activities out of the media.
Simply as effectively: particulars that emerged have been sketchy, however Denmark reportedly walloped Greece both 9-0 or 15-0, in a fixture refereed by Constantine’s youthful brother, prince of each Greece and Denmark.
Greece took one other 31 years to get their act collectively and tighten up their defence, presumably involving root-and-branch evaluate and the rapid constructing of a 1900s St George’s Park (in these days, only a subject). By the point they performed their first official FIFA fixture in 1927, they solely misplaced 4-1 to Italy. A lot better.
Upton Park: Gold Medallists
Upton Park (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
The Greece and Denmark sides of 1896 have been largely made up of gamers from particular person golf equipment – when the Olympics’ first official soccer match befell 4 years later, Nice Britain have been represented by Upton Park FC.
Concerned within the inaugural FA Cup in 1971, the membership ended up within the Southern Alliance fairly than the brand new Soccer League, then accepted the invite to symbolize GB in Paris – they solely went and gained the factor, beating Membership Francais of their solely fixture to bag gold.
The Free College of Brussels have been the opposite aspect concerned, however the bronze medallists have been registered as a ‘Combined Crew’ fairly than Belgium, as a result of their line-up included a Brit and a Dutchman.
“Beware, 17-1 is a harmful lead”
The early Olympics weren’t all the time solely aggressive – in 1908, Nice Britain hammered Sweden 12-1 at London’s White Metropolis, whereas Denmark thrashed France 17-1, due to 10 objectives from Sophus Nielsen.
GB beat Denmark within the closing (a fairly extra wise scoreline of 2-0), then bagged their third gold in 4 Olympics by triumphing once more in 1912. Germany beat Russia 16-0 at that Video games, with Gottfried Fuchs additionally netting 10.
Soccer had virtually been faraway from the 1912 Video games, with hosts Sweden involved that the game’s ‘reputation was not but worldwide’. Give it just a few years, guys…
Czechoslovakia: No followers of John Lewis
Groups have been actually taking it severely in 1920, after World Warfare One escalated tensions – Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey have been all uninvited, then Belgium confronted Czechoslovakia within the closing.
The previous led 2-0 in entrance of an enormous crowd in Antwerp, when the Czechs walked off earlier than half-time, protesting English ref John Lewis, and presumably his Christmas advertisements, too.
The match was deserted and Czechoslovakia have been refused a medal – Spain acquired silver as a substitute.
How a couple of World Cup?
Netherlands vs Uruguay in 1928 (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
By 1928, the match had expanded a lot that FIFA sensed a possibility.
4 years earlier, Uruguay had change into the primary South People to enter – travelling to France on third-class boat tickets, then successful gold, primarily as a result of not one of the European groups knew who the hell their gamers have been. They have been fairly helpful, because it turned out.
Uruguay beat Argentina to win 1928 gold, too – Chile, USA, Mexico and Egypt additionally took half, giving the match a brand new world really feel, even when Egypt misplaced 11-3 to Italy within the bronze medal match.
Nice Britain didn’t participate in 1924 or 1928, steadfast of their perception that solely beginner gamers needs to be chosen – they’d misplaced to Norway in 1920 earlier than withdrawing, as different nations started to select professionals.
By 1928, soccer was the preferred occasion on the Video games, with greater than 250,000 ticket requests. A day earlier than the match began in Amsterdam, Jules Rimet presided over a FIFA congress within the metropolis, which voted {that a} World Cup would launch in 1930. A wrangle between FIFA and the Worldwide Olympic Committee ensued, that means soccer was dropped from the 1932 Video games, however it returned in 1936, for under amateurs and state-sponsored gamers.
Hitler’s not glad
Peru on the Olympics (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
It wasn’t solely Nice Britain that Norway managed to irk – the Scandinavians irritated Adolf Hitler, too.
The 1936 Olympics have been infamously held in Berlin through the Third Reich: Nice Britain returned however misplaced to Poland within the quarter-finals, the place hosts Germany additionally fell. Hitler had turned as much as watch his first ever soccer match, planning it as a propaganda alternative, demonstrating Germany’s energy to the world – that went a bit unsuitable when Norway made it 2-0 with seven minutes left, and the red-faced dictator flounced out of the stadium. “The Fuhrer,” is incensed, Joseph Goebbels revealed. A minimum of he didn’t throw his season ticket on the supervisor on the way in which out.
Hitler by no means went to a different match for the remainder of his life – a day later although, there have been odd goings-on when allies Austria trailed Peru 4-2, just for a pitch invasion within the closing minute of extra-time. An Austrian participant went down injured and the sport was deserted – different experiences advised that the referee had immediately observed that the pitch was the unsuitable dimension.
A replay was ordered, however Peru took their total Olympic group dwelling in protest – again in Lima, locals tore down the Olympic flag and threw stones on the German consulate.
Dulwich Hamlet: Olympic venue?!
Dulwich Hamlet’s Champion Hill (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
No fewer than 11 grounds have been chosen to stage fixtures on the 1948 London Olympics – Wembley clearly acquired the ultimate, however the match began with Luxembourg leathering Afghanistan 6-0 at Brighton’s Goldstone Floor, earlier than France beat India at Ilford FC, Turkey defeated China in Walthamstow and South Korea overcame Mexico at Dulwich Hamlet’s Champion Hill.
Nice Britain fielded a ragtag group from golf equipment as disparate as Queen’s Park and Barnet, managed by 39-year-old Manchester United boss Matt Busby. He might have been nice, however he wasn’t but a miracle employee – GB misplaced the semi to Yugoslavia, then the bronze medal match to Denmark.
“No-one inform Stalin the consequence…”
Germany vs Brazil within the 1952 Olympics (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
Sweden bagged gold in 1948, however the subsequent eight Olympics have been gained by the Japanese Bloc – state funding ensured their groups have been superior to different nations’ beginner gamers.
Hungary wheeled out Ferenc Puskas for victory in 1952 – FA secretary Stanley Rous was so impressed he invited them for a pleasant at Wembley the next yr, probably regretting that when the Magyars famously humiliated England 6-3.
The USSR additionally had excessive hopes at these Video games in Helsinki, however confronted Yugoslavia in a first-round grudge match – Joseph Stalin had fallen out with Yugoslavia’s fellow Communist chief Josip Broz Tito, and even tried to get him assassinated. USSR got here from 5-1 down to attract 5-5, however misplaced the replay – the consequence wasn’t talked about in any respect within the Soviet press till Stalin’s dying a yr later.
It didn’t finish there, both: CDSA Moscow, who’d supplied many of the gamers, have been expelled from the Soviet league then disbanded, regardless of being champions in every of the earlier 5 seasons. Some advised that was opportunism to profit KGB chief Lavrentiy Beria, honorary president of rivals Dinamo Moscow. Who gained the league for the subsequent two years? Er, Spartak…
Sailors’ mutiny
Nice Britain did not play within the Olympics for 52 years (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
Nice Britain exited 5-3 to Luxembourg within the preliminary spherical in 1952 – 4 years later, a defeat to Bulgaria was an excessive amount of for some GB-supporting sailors.
Trailing 3-1 at half-time in Melbourne, 80 mariners from the visiting HMS Newcastle vaulted the pitchside fence and staged a protest march in a bid to encourage a fightback, wielding an umbrella in English colors and an indication saying ‘Up The Lions’. Stirring stuff – police escorted them out of the bottom, and Bulgaria gained 6-1.
GB appeared on the Olympics simply as soon as extra, in 1960, failing to qualify for the subsequent three Video games, then withdrawing till 2012.
The rise of East Germany
East Germany on the 1976 Olympics (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
East Germany solely certified for one World Cup, however they have been Olympic champions in 1976.
Twelve years earlier, they’d claimed bronze because the United Crew of Germany – East had crushed West in a play-off to find out which aspect would progress to the Video games underneath that identify.
Bronze was theirs once more in Munich in 1972, beating West Germany within the group stage, then drawing with the USSR within the third-place match, that means the medal was shared – the Soviet group physician later claimed the sport was fastened.
Within the 1976 battle of the Communist states, North Korean An Gil-wan was banned for attacking the referee not as soon as however 3 times throughout defeat to the Soviets, earlier than East Germany beat Poland within the closing – the one time any German aspect has ever gained the boys’s match.
Search skilled assist
The gold medal France group (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
After gold for Hungary, the USSR, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Hungary, Poland, East Germany and Czechoslovakia, the east’s dominance lastly resulted in 1984 – due to a rule change, then a boycott.
Professionals have been allowed to participate, so long as they hadn’t performed in a World Cup, earlier than an underneath 23s rule was additionally launched in 1992.
When the USSR, East Germany and Czechoslovakia boycotted the 1984 Video games in Los Angeles, amid Chilly Warfare tensions, it left the way in which clear for France to win gold, beating a Brazil aspect containing a younger Dunga on the Rose Bowl, in entrance of 101,799. A decade later, Dunga can be again on the identical stadium, lifting the World Cup.
The unsuitable Athens
The 1996 closing befell in Athens, Georgia – not in Greece (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
Totally 100 years after the primary Olympics, the inaugural girls’s soccer match befell in 1996 – fittingly, the ultimate was in Athens… Athens, Georgia, that’s.
Seventy miles from Atlanta, probably on account of some kind of horrible mix-up, just like the Belgium followers who by chance ended up within the Yorkshire village of Wales earlier than a key fixture in opposition to the nation of the identical identify in 2015, the small metropolis of Athens was the venue because the USA beat China on dwelling soil. They’d win 4 of the primary 5 feminine Olympic tournaments, triumphing in Athens once more in 2004 (the right one, in Greece), earlier than additional golds in Beijing and London.
“Mo Salah? Not “
Salah on the 2012 Olympics (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
Lower than 9,000 turned as much as see Mo Salah play in a 50,000-capacity stadium on the 2012 Olympics – primarily as a result of hardly anybody had heard of him again then.
The 20-year-old was but to make his Basel debut, having simply moved from Al Mokawloon, when he netted in opposition to Belarus at Hampden Park, following earlier objectives in opposition to Brazil and New Zealand.
It was the bottom attendance in both the male or feminine tournaments – the best was the 86,000 that noticed Neymar’s Brazil improbably lose to Mexico within the males’s closing.
A Spain group containing Juan Mata and Jordi Alba one way or the other managed to not rating a single aim to complete backside of a bunch containing Japan, Honduras and Morocco – Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani couldn’t get on the scoresheet for Uruguay both, as they went out in a bunch gained by Stuart Pearce’s Nice Britain, who misplaced to South Korea within the quarter-finals, on their first Olympic return since 1960. If solely they’d picked David Beckham…
GB girls went out to John Herdman’s Canada on the identical stage, in a girls’s match that featured an unlucky gaffe, when the South Korean flag was by chance used for North Korea’s sport with Colombia. Fortunately that didn’t upset them in any respect, and so they completely didn’t protest so furiously that kick-off needed to be delayed by an hour. Hold on, they did.
Olympic soccer, all the time on the verge of some kind of worldwide incident – by no means change…
