Olympics
Super Falcons’ opponent, Brazil’s Marta and 3 Africans listed among 10 footballers to watch at Paris 2024
Major news outlet, BBC has named Brazil’s woman footballer, Marta among 10 players tipped for glory at the football event of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Nigeria’s Super Falcons are billed to face Brazil in one of the opening matches of Olympics.
BBC focused on the just concluded Euro 2024 and the Copa America in picking most of the players expected to excel. Apart from Marta, three Africans are also in focus. They are Achraf Hakimi of Morocco and Naby Keita of Guinea among the men and Barbra Banda, a woman footballer of Zambia.
The Paris 2024 action starts on Wednesday, with matches taking place in seven cities across France. Both the men’s and women’s finals will be played in Paris at Parc des Princes.
Men’s Olympic squads are made up of under-23s players, with up to three overage players allowed, while women’s squads have no age restrictions.
From Lionel Messi to Alex Morgan, Ronaldinho to Ellen White, some of the world’s biggest names have played football at the Olympics over the years. The big names expected to excel are:
Marta (Brazil)
Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer Marta will bid farewell to international football after captaining her country in Paris.
The 38-year-old is planning to retire from national team duty, but after winning a silver medal at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, she wants one last shot at the gold.
In Tokyo, Marta made history by becoming the first footballer to score in five straight Olympic Games.
She scored five goals in 13 NWSL games for Orlando Pride last season and Brazil manager Arthur Elias said “she’s playing well, she deserved to be on this list” for Paris 2024.
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)
Achraf Hakimi is another big name player to have been cleared to represent his country at the Olympics.
The 25-year-old will miss Paris St-Germain’s pre-season preparations as Morocco prepare to play at a summer Games for the eighth time.
While Hakimi missed two penalties in a pre-tournament friendly against French side Villefranche, he will be keen to lead the Atlas Lions to the final at Parc des Princes.
Tarik Sektioui’s side qualified for Paris 2024 by winning the 2023 Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
Naby Keita (Guinea)
Former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita will captain Guinea as they make only their second appearance at an Olympics.
The Champions League winner had a poor first season in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen, playing just five times because of injury and suspension.
The 29-year-old is one of the biggest names at the Games and will hope to add to his tally of 11 goals for his country.
Barbra Banda (Zambia)
Barbra Banda became the second-most expensive women’s footballer in history when she joined Orlando Pride from Chinese club Shanghai Shengli in March.
Banda, 24, has justified her price tag since joining the NWSL outfit, and became the first player in the history of the division to score 11 goals in their first 11 games.
The NWSL’s top scorer is heading to France with Zambia for her second Olympic Games.
In Tokyo, the Copper Queens’ captain became the first player in Olympic history to score back-to-back hat-tricks – doing so in the group stage against the Netherlands and China.
Julian Alvarez (Argentina)
Fresh from their Copa America triumph, Argentina are the favourites to win the men’s gold medal in Paris.
Along with Nicolas Otamendi and Geronimo Rulli, Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez is one of Argentina’s three overage players in the squad as Javier Mascherano looks to coach the country to their third gold medal.
The 24-year-old scored 11 goals in 36 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side last season as they won a fourth successive Premier League title.
Alvarez will miss City’s pre-season tour of the United States and the Community Shield match against Manchester United, which takes place the day after the gold medal match.
Alexandre Lacazette (France)
Thierry Henry has selected Alexandre Lacazette to captain France at their home Games.
“We all have the same ambition, to go all the way and win a medal,” the 33-year-old said. “The fact that it’s a home Games is really going to motivate us.”
The Lyon forward hasn’t played for his country since 2017 but scored 22 goals in 35 games for the Ligue 1 club last season, showing he is still in good form.
Sevilla’s Loic Bade is another overage inclusion, along with Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta, who is the only Premier League player in the squad.
Kylian Mbappe, who had hoped to be part of the squad as an overage player, is not involved, external – as his new club Real Madrid did not want any of their players taking part at the Games.
Aitana Bonmati (Spain)
Spain have never had a women’s team at the Olympics before but they head to Paris as one of the favourites.
The reigning world champions have lost only twice in 14 matches since beating England in last August’s World Cup final.
Montse Tome’s squad is packed with superstars, but all eyes will be on Aitana Bonmati, a player known for stepping up in the biggest moments.
After winning the Nations League with Spain and the quadruple with Barcelona this season, can the 26-year-old add another gold medal to her collection?
Wendie Renard (France)
Boss Herve Renard said legendary defender Wendie Renard – no relation – was “unanimously” selected as France’s captain for the home Olympics.
The 34-year-old Lyon defender will represent France at a third Games after doing so at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Renard has 160 caps for France but is yet to win a major honour for her country.
The hosts will hope to land a spot on the podium with stars such as Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Grace Geyoro and Eugenie Le Sommer in their ranks.
Fermin Lopez (Spain)
Along with Alex Baena, Fermin Lopez is one of two players from Spain’s Euro 2024-winning squad heading to the Olympics.
The 21-year-old winger only featured once for Luis de la Fuente’s side in Germany but joins Barcelona team-mates Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia in the Olympic squad.
Lopez had a breakout first season in La Liga, scoring 11 goals in all competitions for Xavi’s side.
Lopez and Baena are looking to make history by becoming the first outfield players to win both the Euros and Olympic gold in the same summer.
Linda Caicedo (Colombia)
At the age of 19, Linda Caicedo is already recognised as one of the best prospects in women’s football.
The Real Madrid forward was one of the breakout stars of the 2023 World Cup – at 18 years and 153 days, she became the second-youngest South American player to score a goal in the history of the tournament, behind only the legendary Marta.
Her wonder goal against Germany in the group stage was voted as the best of the tournament and nominated for the Puskas award.
Caicedo, who has been the poster girl for the rise of women’s football in Colombia, could play at the Under-20 Women’s World Cup on home soil later in August.
Nigeria’s Super Falcons will face a confident and free-scoring Comoros side in the next round of the women’s football qualifiers for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games after the island nation completed a staggering 30-0 aggregate demolition of Sudan.
Comoros sealed their passage to the next stage with a 13-0 victory in the second leg of their first-round tie, having already recorded a commanding win in the opening match. The result saw the Coelacanthes score an extraordinary 30 goals across the two legs without conceding a single goal.
The emphatic triumph has generated excitement around the rapidly improving Comoros women’s national team, but a much sterner examination now awaits against Africa’s most successful women’s football nation.
Nigeria, ten-time African champions and one of the continent’s traditional powerhouses, enter the next round as overwhelming favourites. However, Comoros’ remarkable scoring exploits against Sudan suggest they will arrive with growing confidence and belief.
The Coelacanthes dominated both encounters from start to finish, displaying clinical finishing and defensive solidity that left Sudan with no answer. Their tally of 30 goals over two matches represents an astonishing average of 15 goals per game.
For Nigeria, the fixture will mark the beginning of another quest for Olympic qualification after missing out on the women’s football tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Super Falcons, who recently impressed in their international friendly victories over Senegal in Ikenne, boast vastly greater experience and pedigree than their upcoming opponents. The nine-time Women’s Africa Cup of Nations champions have consistently been among the continent’s strongest teams and remain Africa’s highest-ranked women’s national side.
Comoros coach Youssouf Abdallah has described his team’s performances against Sudan as evidence of the progress being made within the squad, but the encounter with Nigeria will provide a true measure of their development.
While Comoros’ record-breaking victory has captured attention across African football, the challenge of overcoming Nigeria represents a significant leap in quality. The Super Falcons have traditionally dominated lower-ranked African opponents and will be expected to continue their march towards a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The dates for the second-round qualifiers are expected to be confirmed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), with the winners advancing further in the race for a place at the Olympic Games in the United States.
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By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria’s senior women’s national team, the Super Falcons, will begin their campaign for a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games from the second round of the African qualifiers after being granted a bye in the opening stage.
The draw, conducted on Wednesday in Cairo by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), placed Nigeria among 29 higher-ranked teams exempted from the first round of the series.
The Super Falcons will take on the winner of the first-round clash between South Sudan and Comoros in their opening fixture of the qualifiers.
A total of 35 nations are competing for just two available slots allocated to Africa for the women’s football tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, underlining the intensity and high stakes of the qualification process.
The qualifiers will be contested over five knockout rounds on a home-and-away basis, leaving little room for error as teams battle for continental representation on the global stage.
The first round involves the six lowest-ranked teams—Sudan, Mauritius, Djibouti, South Sudan, Madagascar and Comoros—based on the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings. Winners from this stage will advance to face each other again before the 29 seeded teams, including Nigeria, enter the fray.
Nigeria will be aiming to consolidate their status among Africa’s elite women’s football nations, having qualified for the most recent Olympic tournament alongside Zambia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Although the Super Falcons boast a notable Olympic pedigree, having made their debut at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and subsequently appearing at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and Paris 2024, qualification has not always been easy.
The 16-year gap between their last two participations in Beijing 2008 and Paris 2024 illustrates the tough time they have endured in the qualifying series.
With the women’s football event at Los Angeles 2028 set to feature 16 teams—including hosts the United States—Nigeria’s path to qualification is expected to be demanding.
Attention will now shift to the preliminary encounter between South Sudan and Comoros, as Nigeria’s technical crew intensify preparations ahead of their second-round entry point.
For the Super Falcons, the mission is clear: successfully navigate a rigorous qualifying campaign and secure a return to the Olympic stage in 2028.
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Nigeria’s senior women’s national team, the Super Falcons, will on Wednesday discover their route to the football event of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles when the Confederation of African Football conducts the official draw in Cairo.
The draw ceremony, scheduled for April 29 at CAF headquarters in Egypt, will set in motion Africa’s qualifying campaign for the women’s football tournament of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
A total of 35 countries, including Nigeria, will participate in the race for just two tickets allocated to Africa for the Olympic football event, which will take place from July 11 to 29, 2028.
Alongside Nigeria, other contenders include continental heavyweights such as South Africa, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Zambia, as well as a wide range of emerging nations from across the continent.
The full list of participating teams also features Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
According to CAF, the qualification series will be played over five rounds, gradually narrowing the field to the two teams that will fly Africa’s flag at the Olympics in the United States.
For Nigeria, Africa’s most successful women’s national team, the qualifiers present another opportunity to reaffirm their continental dominance and secure a return to the Olympic stage after recent mixed fortunes in global competitions.
The Super Falcons, nine-time African champions, are expected to be among the top seeds when the draw is conducted, a factor that could influence their early-round opponents.
Wednesday’s ceremony in Cairo will therefore provide clarity on the fixtures, timelines and potential hurdles facing Nigeria and other contenders as the road to Los Angeles officially begins.
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