France vs United States, Olympics Football 2024, Today Match Prediction

France vs United States Match Prediction & Analysis

Forty years after winning gold in Pasadena, California, the French football team is aiming to reclaim the gold on home turf as the top favourites this time around. Les Bleus will start off their campaign against the USA at Marseille's Orange Velodrome stadium. The group also includes New Zealand and Guinea.

The French team will be managed by Les Bleus legend Thierry Henry, who has a history of managing teams like Monaco and the Montreal Impact at club level. They qualified for the Games as hosts and  will be making their 11th appearance in the tournament. 

Coached by Marko Mitrovic, the USMNT team will be making a comeback to the event for the first time since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2008, the USMNT failed to advance beyond the group stage. The team qualified for the event through the CONCACAF U20 tournament, which they won by defeating the Dominican Republic 6-0 in the finals. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

France Preview

Unlike in the global football tournaments, the French team has failed to create an impact on the football field at the Olympics since the 1984 event. Between 1984 and 2020, they only crossed the group stage twice, the last time in 1996 at the Atlanta Games. The failures at the event can be attributed to the fact that most of the big clubs are reluctant to send their players to the Olympics, as the tournament isn't seen in the same light as the World Cup or the Euros. However, in Thierry Henry, they have a coach who sees this gold medal as a crucial step in his coaching career.

Touted as the favourites by bookmakers and experts, Henry possesses a team that has an exciting mix of players with quality and experience. Alexandre Lacazette, with 53 goals in two seasons for Lyon; Jean-Philippe Mateta, with 9 goals in his last 6 matches; Loic Bade, a regular for Sevilla; and Michael Olise, who recently joined Bayern Munich, are some of the most prominent names in the squad. 

In the lead-up to the event, Lacazette and Olise scored a brace each in a 7-0 thrashing of the Dominican Republic last week. Apart from the names mentioned above, Les Bleus have talents like Rayan Cherki for Olympique Lyonnais, Arnaud Kalimuendo Millot for AS Monaco, and Enzo Doue, who have all been regular starters for their respective clubs.

With this kind of quality, the French side is dangerous and the top favourite to win the gold. Given the talent at his disposal, we can expect a 4-3-1-2 formation for the first match, with the trio of Olise-Lacazette-Mateta leading the team upfront on the pitch.

France Probable Starting XI - Restes; Sildillia, Lukeba, Bade, Truffert; Millot, Kone, Chotard; Olise; Mateta, Lacazette

United States Preview

The USA may not have the same star power as France, but they do have a squad with strong team chemistry, as the majority of the players hail from MLS.  Among the 18-member squad, 15 players have already featured for the national team, and some were part of the U20 World Cup squad.  Being a co-host of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the USMNT sees this as a valuable opportunity to test players ahead of the major tournament.

They have the perfect man for the job in Marko Mitrovic. A member of the coaching staff for Serbia's 2015 U20 World Cup winners, Mitrovic also has experience working with USA youth teams and Chicago Fire in MLS. Given his experience working within the system for years, he will understand the importance of developing young players like Paxten Aaronson, Aiden Morris, and Cade Cowell.

Paxten, with 7 goals, was the top scorer and player of the tournament in the U20 CONCACAF Championship that qualified the USMNT for the Olympics.  Along with the younger players, the experienced duo of Tanner Tessman and Gianluca Busio, with their experience playing in the Italian league, will have a big role to play in complementing the youngsters on the pitch against France.

In terms of tactics, expect Mitrovic to deploy a 4-3-3 formation with an emphasis on attacking using his pacey wingers, Kevin Paredes and Cade Cowell.

USA Probable Starting XI - Schulte; Harriel, Robinson, Zimmerman, Wiley; McGlynn, Tessmann; Booth, Aaronson, Paredes; McGuire

FRANCE vs UNITED STATES
Winning Prediction

The predicted xG for the game is 2 goals, with the odds favoring the hosts to win the opening match. However, the USMNT shouldn't be underestimated, as the last time these two teams met with a similar squad but without the overage players, the game ended in a 2-2 draw. That said, the French team does possess a better quality of overaged players in the squad, and this difference in overage player quality might ultimately be the deciding factor in the clash.

Apart from the difference in squad quality, the pressure of playing in front of 67,000 home fans in Marseille will have a serious impact on this game. How the USMNT handles that pressure and how the French team deals with the expectations will determine who wins this battle. Nonetheless, given these factors, France is favored to win the match.

France U-23 to Win (2-0)

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