Hosts France Kick Off Olympic Games Against USA
France vs USA Olympic Soccer: Les Bleus Favorites to Take Home Gold

USA’s First Olympic Appearance Since 2008
Hosts France have a star-studded Olympic men’s soccer roster and are the +225 favorites to win the tournament heading into Paris 2024. On Wednesday, they’ll kick off their campaign against the USA, who are making their first appearance in the Olympics since 2008.
We’ll see if USA’s overage center back pairing of Miles Robinson and Walker Zimmerman has any shot of stopping France strikers Jean-Philippe Mateta and Alexandre Lacazette as we preview the France vs USA Olympic soccer odds. France U23 coach and former national team legend Thierry Henry will demand his side grab all three points here.
France U23 vs USA U23
Date & Time: Wednesday, July 24th, 3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France
France U23 vs USA U23 Head-to-Head
France U23 and USA U23 met in a friendly back in March. The match finished 2-2 as the USA came back from 2-0 down.
This is the first time France’s Olympic team will face USA’s Olympic team in men’s soccer. At Tokyo 2020, France did lose to USA’s CONCACAF rivals Mexico, though. Meanwhile, USA’s matches on the Paris Olympics 2024 schedule are their first in the Olympic games since Beijing 2008.
France: Going for Gold
France figure to be one of the most popular soccer bets in the men’s Olympic soccer tournament. All of their matches will be on home soil and they have a star-studded roster. Attacking midfielder Michael Olise just joined Bayern Munich in a big-money move. Hell be tasked with supplying overage strikers Jean-Philippe Mateta and Alexandre Lacazette.
Mateta, Olise’s former Crystal Palace teammate, tore up the Premier League once Oliver Glasner took over. The powerful striker scored 13 goals in the final 13 EPL games of the season. Meanwhile, Lacazette has a ton of experience and has scored goals everywhere he’s played, including a long spell at Arsenal.
While young talents like Lenny Yoro, Khephren Thuram and Elye Wahi couldn’t play due to their club commitments, France have plenty of players to watch. RB Leipzig center back Castello Lukeba made seven Champions League starts last season.
Midfielder Enzo Millot helped Stuttgart secure an unexpected UCL berth and 19-year old goalkeeper Guillaume Restes broke through at Toulouse.
Les Bleus have what it takes to win their first Olympic soccer gold medal since 1984. They’re 1.5-goal favorites for this France vs USA Olympic soccer match.
USA: Lacking a Proven Goalscorer
Soccer academies have been gradually improving in USA and their Olympic appearance vindicates the progress they’ve made. USA won the 2022 CONCACAF U20 Championship to qualify as attacking midfielder Paxten Aaronson stood out. He scored seven goals and won the tournaments’ MVP award.
With Venezia’s Tanner Tessman and Gianluca Busio in midfield, the USA have two players with Serie A experience under their belts. Left back Caleb Wiley, who’s only 19, just signed a permanent deal with Chelsea. He’ll be part of an otherwise experienced backline as Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson have 71 combined caps for the senior team.
Coach Marko Mitrović also called up Djordje Mihailovic as his third overage player and he could be an X factor. While the USA have a solid spine, and a goalkeeping dilemma with Patrick Schulte and Gabriel Slonina, they don’t have a proven striker.
The Olympic Games soccer odds currently price USA at +2200 to win their first men’s gold medal. Those are the joint-sixth best odds in the competition.
France U23 vs USA U23 Match Analysis & Odds
The key matchups in this France vs USA Olympic soccer match are France’s strikers against USA’s center backs. If USA can frustrate France, and the home crowd, long enough and grow into the game, they may have a shot to pull off a point, or more.
Still, France have enough individual skill to bail them out of a tough spot and it’s why they have a clear edge here. France are -285 favorites for Wednesday’s opener while France -1.5 comes in at +110 odds.
USA have looked solid in recent friendlies, beating Paraguay and drawing against Spain. They’re +600 underdogs and USA +1.5 is priced at -140 odds. A draw shows +375 odds and France drew 1-1 against Japan in their last pre-tournament friendly.
Over 2.5 goals are priced at -150 odds and the consensus seems to be that Mateta and Lacazette will have some success against the USA’s backline. Olise also scored three goals in France’s last two friendlies.
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