A potential battle for Group A supremacy will commence on Wednesday, as France and the USA begin their Paris 2024 Olympics campaigns in the men's football tournament.
The Games hosts welcome their transatlantic counterparts to the Orange Velodrome in Marseille, while Guinea and New Zealand also seek to upset the Olympic apple cart.
Match preview
Frequent knockout participants in the Olympic men's football tournament decades ago, the France team of 1984 stormed their way to their first and only gold medal in the competition so far, which preceded several years in the Games wilderness.
The 2024 hosts astonishingly failed to qualify for the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 editions before finally making their first 21st century appearance at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games, which was a forgettable affair for Les Bleus.
Indeed, France lost to both Mexico and Japan - conceding four goals on both occasions - to crash out in the group stage, but if there is any man who knows how to fight fire with fire, it is head coach and all-time leading scorer for Arsenal Thierry Henry.
France did not have to go through the rigmarole of qualifying thanks to their status as Olympic hosts, and they have enjoyed a hot friendly streak of three wins and two draws in 2024 thus far, including a 4-1 beating of Paraguay and 7-0 crushing of the Dominican Republic earlier this month.
However, Henry's side needed a Michael Olise stunner to rescue a 1-1 draw with Japan last Wednesday, but with the eye-catching talent at their disposal, France have to be regarded as one of the favourites for at least a podium finish, if not a coveted gold medal.
A new Olympic champion will be crowned in men's football this summer thanks to Brazil's failure to qualify, and the USA - who took home the silver medal all the way back in 1904 and have since witnessed their female counterparts win four golds - may feel that their time is nigh.
Needing to restore a sense of national pride following the seniors' dismal Copa America campaign, the Yanks - led by former Yugoslavia youth international Marko Mitrovic - breezed their way to Paris by defending their CONCACAF U-20 Championship title in 2022.
The USA had already qualified for the Games just by reaching the final, where they demolished the Dominican Republic 6-0 to retain their iron grip on the crown, as well as ending a 16-year exile from the men's Olympic football tournament.
After going out in the group stage in 2008, the Stars and Stripes were not present at the 2012, 2016 or 2020 Games, and their warm-up period has been the definition of a mixed bag; a 2-0 loss to Japan preceded a 1-0 win over Paraguay.
Wednesday's battle will mark the first time in history that France and USA have crossed paths in the men's Olympic football competition, but the Yanks' women's team ran out 4-2 winners over Les Bleus at London 2012, before going on to win their third gold in succession.
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Team News
Boasting some of the most celebrated names at the Paris Olympics this year, France are seemingly set to operate with a 4-3-1-2 setup, spearheaded by two of their overage stars in Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette and Crystal Palace marksman Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Bayern Munich new boy Olise should start just behind the duo, thereby reuniting with Mateta just a few weeks on from leaving Selhurst Park, while Borussia Monchengladbach's Manu Kone is the standout name in midfield.
Some eyes may wander to the displays of highly-rated RB Leipzig centre-back Castello Lukeba, while 19-year-old Guillaume Restes of Toulouse is already a Ligue 1 regular and will sport the goalkeeper's gloves.
The USA's selection is much more modest in comparison, but a fascinating goalkeeping battle is set to ensue between Chelsea's Gabriel Slonina and Patrick Schulte of the Columbus Crew, apparently on Arsenal's radar.
Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson could form an overage pairing in central defence to combat France's two experienced centre-forwards, while Utrecht's Paxten Aaronson - brother of Brenden Aaronson - pulls the strings in the number 10 slot.
France Under-23s possible starting lineup:
Restes; Sildillia, Lukeba, Bade, Truffert; Millot, Kone, Chotard; Olise; Mateta, Lacazette
USA Under-23s possible starting lineup:
Schulte; Harriel, Robinson, Zimmerman, Wiley; McGlynn, Tessmann; Booth, Aaronson, Paredes; McGuire
We say: France Under-23s 2-0 USA Under-23s
A France and USA one-two may very well come to fruition in Group A further down the line, but there should only be one clear winner in Wednesday's opening scrap.
While Henry is blessed with clinical and well-versed attackers, Les Bleus possess highly-rated young stars in all thirds of the field and should live up to the pre-tournament hype in Marseille.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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