Football: These are the biggest stars at the Paris 2024 Olympics, from Achraf Hakimi to Alexia Putellas

Olympic football offers some of the biggest names in the sport the chance to write history and win gold for their nation.

Paris 2024 will be no different, and both the men’s and women’s tournaments have plenty of stars to watch. The decisive gold medal matches will take place on 9 August and 10 August respectively at the Parc des Princes.

Here are the biggest names to look out for at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Men’s football stars to watch at Paris 2024 Olympics

Although the men’s football competition is limited to players under the age of 23 – with three overage players per team – there is no shortage of talent.

Hosts France will be led by captain Alexandre Lacazette, the former Arsenal striker now back at boyhood club Olympique Lyonnais. He will represent his nation for the first time in seven years, and on a unique stage of a home Games, where he could even play at his home stadium should France win their group and reach the semi-finals.

Lacazette is not the only player who could find himself playing at his club stadium; PSG’s Achraf Hakimi will be determined for Morocco to reach the gold medal match at the Parc des Princes. The defender was part of the squad that made it to the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the first African nation to achieve that feat.

There will be four men’s FIFA World Cup winners at Paris 2024 with Argentina: Julian Alvarez of Manchester City, distinguished defender Nicolas Otamendi, Geronimo Rulli and Thiago Almada.

The quartet will try to write history as the first male players to win the FIFA World Cup and then Olympic gold, in that order, a unique feat in football.

Naby Keita, Champions League winner with Liverpool in 2019, will be captaining Guinea in Paris. This is the nation’s first time back competing in Olympic men’s football since Mexico City 1968, as the Werder Bremen midfielder will hope to lead his nation deep into the tournament.

There are also plenty of big names who will be leading their nations from the sidelines. France are managed by French football legend and Olympic Torchbearer Thierry Henry, while two-time Olympic champion Javier Mascherano is aiming to become the first man to win the Olympic men’s football tournament as a player and a coach.

Women’s football stars to watch at Paris 2024 Olympics

The women’s football competition is a star-studded affair in Paris, featuring defending FIFA World Cup champions Spain, the United States, Germany, and Brazil among others.

This will be the last dance for one of the most legendary names of the beautiful game: Marta. The Brazilian will retire at the end of 2024, but not before she plays at her sixth Olympic Games in Paris. She is already the first footballer to score in five consecutive Games – will the Queen of Football break her own record and make it six?

Spain’s squad features 15 women’s World Cup winners alone, including FC Barcelona trio Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmati, and Salma Paralluelo. There are also experienced names like Jenni Hermoso and Irene Paredes, as well as Olga Carmona, who scored the winning goal in the 2023 World Cup final against England.

Though the USA have a new look under Emma Hayes, they still have plenty of seasoned stars among their ranks. Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle, and Crystal Dunn are going to be key in the pursuit for gold, while Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith will hope to set the competition alight in their Olympic debuts.

Do not forget about Germany too; the Rio 2016 gold medallists will be spearheaded by striker partnership Alexandra Popp and Lea Schuller. Real Madrid starlet Linda Caicedo burst onto the world stage at the 2023 FIFA World Cup with Colombia, while Ali Riley will play in her fifth Olympic Games for New Zealand.

Zambia’s squad features Racheal Kundananji, the most expensive women’s footballer in the world, and Barbra Banda, who in 2021 became the first footballer to score back-to-back Olympic hat-tricks at Tokyo 2020 in 2021.

Hosts France are also built on an experienced core, led by captain stalwart Wendie Renard and with featuring Eugenie Le Sommer, Amandine Henry and Marie-Antoinette Katoto. The host nation has not won Olympic women’s gold in 28 years, but in the women’s football competition at Paris 2024, it is anyone’s gold to win.