The 2024 Paris Olympics soft launch on-field action today, with eight men’s soccer matches and 12 men’s rugby sevens matches. The U.S. men’s national teams for soccer and rugby play, the USMNT facing host France and the U.S. men’s rugby sevens team lining up for two matches.
Elsewhere, the U.S. men’s gymnastics team has podium training, and the U.S. men’s basketball team practices ahead of their first game Sunday.
USA TODAY Sports will bring you live results, medal count, highlights,and more throughout the day. Follow along.
Medal count today
Our 2024 Paris Olympics medal count tracker updates after every single medal event. The first medals can be won on Saturday.
Meet Team USA: See which athletes made the U.S. Olympic team and where they are from
Olympics on TV today
NBC is airing and streaming the Paris Olympics from all angles: Peacock is streaming every sport and event live as it unfolds; NBC, USA Network, CNBC and E! are carrying various live events and replays throughout the day. The Games can also be streamed on Fubo. Here are 6 tips and tricks for getting the most out of Peacock during the Olympics.
Thiery Henry takes Olympic stage with France
MARSEILLE, France – Although fans may not recognize most of France’s roster, even casuals know its manager: Thierry Henry.
After his playing career ended, Henry began his coaching journey with Arsenal’s youth academy in 2015. He had been an assistant for Belgium’s national squad during its run to the World Cup semifinal in 2018.
Henry’s other managerial roles have included Ligue 1’s Monaco and CF Montréal of Major League Soccer.
As a player, Henry helped France win the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. He ranks as the second all-time leading scorer (51) for “Les Bleus.”
USMNT vs. France: Host nation’s fans out in force
MARSEILLE, France – Fans of the host country were out in full force hours before kickoff, wearing blue and waving French flags.
With no fans at the Tokyo Summer Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Games due to COVID-19, the eruptions from the France-heavy crowd will be a reminder of the Olympics’ draw.
– Chris Bumbaba
Olympic soccer: USMNT makes long-awaited return
MARSEILLE, France — For the first time in 16 years, the U.S. men’s U-23 national team is back in the Olympics.
The best finish for the U.S. men was a fourth-place showing at the Sydney Games in 2000.
By winning the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship in Honduras, the team clinched its spot in the 2024 Olympics.
Since 1992 in Barcelona, the men’s soccer Olympic tournament has been played with players age 23 or younger. Each squad is allowed to carry three overage players if they choose.
The lone senior national team member with previous World Cup experience is defender Walker Zimmerman. Defender Miles Robinson and midfielder Djordje Mihailovic are the other overage players.
– Chris Bumbaca
Olympic soccer: Morocco vs. Argentina ends in chaos
A fan invasion in the opening match of the Olympic men’s soccer tournament between Argentina and Morocco on Wednesday caused chaos, with Argentina eventually beaten 2-1 following a VAR review after play was suspended with the score tied at 2-2.
Argentina’s Cristian Medina scored deep in injury time to salvage what looked like a 2-2 draw, but the decision ruling out the goal was delivered about two hours after play was suspended when the teams re-emerged to finish the match in an empty stadium.
The teams played for three minutes and 15 seconds after VAR completed its review and disallowed the goal.
After order was restored in Saint-Etienne and the teams had left the field following the fan invasion, they discovered that the match had not been completed but suspended by officials. The venue manager told Reuters the game had been interrupted, adding that a decision about whether the match would be completed was being discussed.
The teams re-emerged just before 7:00 p.m. local time and warmed up a second time so the final minutes could be played.
– Reuters
Olympic soccer: Iraq vs Ukraine, Japan vs Paraguay begin
Halfway through Wednesday’s slate of eight men’s games, Iraq vs. Ukraine and Japan (in Lyon) vs. Paraguay (Bordeaux) have kicked off.
Olympic soccer: New Zealand wins it late vs. Guinea
Ben Waine’s goal in the 76th minute was the winner for New Zealand in a 2-1 victory over Guinea to open men’s Group A play. Guinea had equalized minutes earlier with Amadou Diawara’s goal, but Waine – who plays for Plymouth Argyle in England – restored New Zealand’s advantage to earn three points.
Olympic soccer: Egypt vs. Dominican Republic finishes scoreless
Egypt and the Dominican Republic men’s soccer teams played out a scoreless draw in their opening group match on Wednesday. With each team picking up a point, the two countries are behind Group C leader Spain, who beat Uzbekistan earlier in the day.
Olympic Rugby schedule today
- Australia 21, Samoa 14 (Pool B)
- Argentina 31, Kenya 12 (Pool B)
- United States 12, France 12 (Pool C)
- Fiji 40, Uruguay 12 (Pool C)
- Ireland 10, South Africa 5 (Pool A)
- New Zealand 40, Japan 12 (Pool A)
- Australia 21, Kenya 7 (Pool C)
- Argentina 28, Samoa 12 (Pool B)
- France 19, Uruguay 12 (Pool C)
- 2:30 p.m.: Fiji vs. United States (Pool C)
- 3 p.m.: Ireland vs. Japan (Pool A)
- 3:30 p.m.: New Zealand vs. South Africa (Pool A)
Olympic men’s rugby: Ireland beats South Africa
Ireland outlasted South Africa, 10-5, in a Pool A matchup. Ireland led 5-0 after the first half and had a 10-0 lead late before allowing its first points with just about a minute left to play.
New Zealand is taking on Japan in the next game.
Olympic men’s soccer: Next pair of games in action
New Zealand has taken an early lead on Guinea (1-0) in their Group A game, while Egypt and the Dominican Republic are squaring off in a Group C matchup.
Olympic schedule today
There are eight soccer matches and 12 rugby sevens matches. The U.S. men’s national soccer team plays host France at 3 p.m. ET. The U.S. men’s rugby sevens team has two matches: against France (10:30 a.m.) and against Fiji (2:30 p.m.).
Olympic men’s rugby: United States-France finish in a tie
Trailing France 12-7 five minutes into the second half, Team USA got a score by Marcus Tupuola to tie things up. The U.S. had a chance to break the 12-12 tie, but Madison Hughes’ conversion failed.
Team USA plays Fuji later at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Olympic men’s rugby: Fiji routs Uruguay
Waisea Nacuqu and Joji Nasova combined for more than half of Fiji’s points in a 40-12 rout of Uruguay.
Fiji led 19-7 after the first half, and then outscored Uruguay 21-5 in the second half to win the Pool C opener.
Olympic soccer games today
Here’s the schedule for Wednesday’s men’s soccer games.
9 a.m.
- Group B: Morocco 2, Argentina 1
- Group C: Spain 2, Uzbekistan 1
11 a.m.
- Group A: New Zealand 2, Guinea 1
- Group C: Egypt 0, Dominican Republic 0
1 p.m.
- Group B: Iraq vs. Ukraine
- Group D: Japan vs. Paraguay
3 p.m.
- Group A: France vs. United States
- Group D: Mali vs. Israel
Olympic men’s soccer: Spain holds on against Uzbekistan
Spain made Sergio Gomez’s tiebreaking goal hold up and comes away with the 2-1 win in its opener.
Uzbekistan nearly got the equalizer from Khusniddin Alikulov, who fired a kick just over the crossbar in the 81st minute.
Team USA projected to win most medals at Paris Olympics
The United States will top the Paris Olympics medal table and host France will almost double its haul from 2021, according to a projection from data and analytics company Nielsen.
Nielsen said that based on its Gracenote results data from key global and continental competitions since Tokyo three years ago Team USA would be top of its virtual medal table for eighth consecutive summer Games.
It said the US would win 112 medals, one less than in 2021, and that 37 golds would also be the top mark, with almost half the haul from athletics and swimming.
China is to follow again with 86 medals, down three, with 34 of them gold in Paris. — Reuters
Olympic men’s soccer: Argentina cuts into Morocco lead
Argentina is on the board after Giuliano Simeone scored on an assist by Julio Soler. Argentina’s first goal came in the 68th minute and is one of only two shots on goal so far.
Olympic rugby sevens: United States leads France
Team USA holds a 7-5 lead after one half in its men’s rugby sevens matchup against France. Lucas Lacamp scored just before the end of the half with Steve Tomasin following with a conversion.
France scored 3:07 into the first half, but missed on the conversion.
Olympic rugby sevens: Argentina cruises past Kenya; USA begins
Argentina won the second men’s rugby sevens matchup, overcoming an early 7-0 deficit with an explosive second half that resulted in a 31-12 victory.
The United States gets to cheer on its first team at the Paris Games, as the men’s rugby sevens squad takes on host country France next.
Olympic men’s soccer: Spain breaks tie against Uzbekistan
Sergio Gomez scored on an assist by Juan Miranda to snap a tie and give Spain a 2-1 lead in the 62nd minute. It was Gomez’s third shot on goal.
Olympic men’s soccer: Morocco adds to lead
Morocco scored another goal on another Soufiane Rahimi penalty kick against Argentina. The goal came in the 49th minute and gave Morocco a 2-0 lead. Argentina has yet to get a shot on goal.
Olympic rugby sevens: Australia defeats Samoa
After falling behind 7-0, Australia scored 21 unanswered points and held on for a 21-14 victory against Samoa in a men’s Pool B matchup.
Argentina vs. Kenya are next up, while the United States will take on France at 10:30 a.m. ET. There are 12 total men’s rugby sevens matchups lined up for today.
Olympic men’s soccer: Morocco leads at halftime; Spain-Uzbekistan tied up
Just before the end of the first half, Morocco got on the board against Argentina. Soufiane Rahimi scored in the 45th minute. It was the first shot on goal by either team.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan has evened the score against Spain after a penalty kick by Eldor Shomurodov in the 45th minute. The teams go into halftime tied up at 1-1.
Olympic rugby sevens begin
Australia and Samoa are getting ready to start the second half of their men’s rugby sevens matchup, the first of the Paris Games. The two teams are locked up in a 7-7 tie after Australia dug out of a 7-0 hole.
Olympic men’s soccer: Argentina-Morocco still scoreless
Argentina and Morocco are battling it out in their Group B opener. The two squads are relying on defense to keep their opponent away from the net, as neither team has a shot on goal after 39 minutes.
Olympic men’s soccer: Spain scores first against Uzbekistan
Spain struck first during its Group C opener against Uzbekistan. Marc Pubill scored off a feed from Abell Ruiz in the 29th minute. It’s the first goal of these Olympics and gets Spain on the board with a 1-0 lead.
Is Lionel Messi playing in Olympics?
No. The global star from Argentina is sitting out the Paris Games after just completing Copa America, during which Argentina beat Colombia in extra time and Messi was injured. Messi won a gold medal with Argentina at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Olympics begin: Men’s soccer on the pitch
The Argentina-Morocco and Uzbekistan-Spain men’s soccer games have started, and so have these 2024 Paris Olympics.
What time does USMNT play today at Olympics?
The U.S. men’s national soccer team plays France at 3 p.m. ET.
How to watch USMNT vs. France?
NBC will air the match live, along with Peacock.
USMNT players to watch
Though some of the best USMNT players are still age-eligible for the Olympics, it’s hard to get clubs to let their stars go to a tournament where they might get hurt and almost certainly would miss some of the preseason.
But the Olympics could provide some invaluable experience for some of the USMNT’s stars-in-the-making. Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessmann, who led Venezia to promotion to Serie A in Italy, are on the roster. So is Kevin Paredes, U.S. Soccer’s Young Male Player of the Year last year, and goalkeeper-of-the-future, Gaga Slonina. — Nancy Armour
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