The U.S. will be represented in both soccer competitions at the Olympic Games for the first time in 16 years, with the U-23 U.S. Men’s National Team joining the four-time gold-winning U.S. women’s team in Paris.
It will be only the fourth time that both football teams will be present at the Olympic Games at the same time, some thirty years after women’s football was added to the Olympic Games in 1996. Both teams achieved some highs at the Olympic Games during that time, but each team’s journey was different. While the U-23 men’s team has missed a series of trips to the Games, the women’s team has medaled at the event after just one appearance.
Here’s a look back at the history of the American teams at the Olympics.
USWNT’s history of success
- Atlanta 1996: Golden medal
- Sydney 2000: Silver medal
- Athens 2004: Golden medal
- Beijing 2008: Golden medal
- London 2012: Golden medal
- Rio de Janeiro 2016: Quarterfinals
- Tokyo 2020: Bronze medal
The USWNT is the most talented women’s soccer team in Olympic history with four gold medals, meaning most of the team’s iconic players have earned the Games’ highest honors during their careers.
In the first-ever women’s football event at the Olympic Games, the USWNT defeated China 2-1 in the final – three years before they did so at the 1999 World Cup. They fell short to Norway in Sydney as the European side secured their only gold medal won the event so far, but came back for a three-peat, culminating in a win in London. The 2012 tournament also produced one of the best matches in recent memory: a 4-3 win over Canada in the semi-finals, with the US coming from behind three times before Alex Morgan scored the winning header in extra time.
Things have been less straightforward since then, as the influx of investment and intent for the women’s game has created more competitive tournaments. The USWNT were ousted by Sweden in the quarter-finals in Rio de Janeiro, but recovered in Tokyo with a bronze medal despite playing unimpressive matches during the tournament.
U-23 USMNT’s return to the Games
- Barcelona 1992: Group stage
- Atlanta 1996: Group stage
- Sydney 2000: Fourth place
- Athens 2004: Qualification was not successful
- Beijing 2008: Group stage
- London 2012: Qualification was not successful
- Rio de Janeiro 2016: Qualification was not successful
- Tokyo 2020: Qualification was not successful
The U-23s have only occasionally competed in the Olympics, advancing from the group stage only once in 2000. This tournament has often been a showcase for a number of newcomers to the senior national team, including in 1992 when Brad Friedel and Claudio Reyna took home the award. Future USMNT legends Landon Donovan and Tim Howard were part of the team that played in the 2000 bronze medal game, two years before Donovan was a breakout star in the 2002 World Cup, where the U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals.
The U-23’s last trip to the Olympics in 2008 saw six listed players go on to play in the 2010 World Cup: Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber, Brad Guzan and Stuart Holden.