# Argentina at the 1996 Summer Olympics

Argentina competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. 178 competitors, 131 men and 47 women, took part in 101 events in 20 sports.

## Medalists

| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
| Silver | Argentina national football team Matías AlmeydaRoberto AyalaChristian BassedasCarlos BossioPablo CavalleroJosé ChamotHernán CrespoMarcelo DelgadoMarcelo GallardoClaudio LópezGustavo LópezHugo MoralesAriel OrtegaPablo PazMauricio PinedaRoberto SensiniDiego SimeoneJavier Zanetti | Football | Men's tournament | August 3 |
| Silver | Carlos Espínola | Sailing | Men's Mistral | July 29 |
| Bronze | Pablo Chacón | Boxing | Men's featherweight | August 2 |

## Competitors

The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games.
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
| Athletics | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Basketball | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Beach volleyball | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Boxing | 5 | – | 5 |
| Canoeing | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Cycling | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| Equestrian | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Fencing | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Field hockey | 16 | 16 | 32 |
| Football | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| Gymnastics | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Judo | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| Rowing | 17 | 5 | 22 |
| Sailing | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| Shooting | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Swimming | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Tennis | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Volleyball | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Weightlifting | 3 | – | 3 |
| Wrestling | 1 | – | 1 |
| Total | 132 | 47 | 179 |

## Athletics
### Men

| Athlete | Events | Heat | Heat | Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Events | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Andrés Charadia | Hammer | 65.26 | 17 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | did not advance | did not advance |
| Carlos Gats | 100 m | 10.57 | 3 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Carlos Gats | 200 m | 20.82 | 4 Q | 20.84 | 7 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Marcelo Pugliese | Discus | 56.72 | 29 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | did not advance | did not advance |
| Antonio Silio | Marathon | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | did not finish | did not finish |

### Women

| Athlete | Events | Heat | Heat | Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Events | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Andrea Ávila | Long jump | 6.00 | 31 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | did not advance | did not advance |
| Griselda González | Marathon | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 2:35:12 | 19 |
| Liliana Martinelli | Discus | 55.68 | 35 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | did not advance | did not advance |
| Marta Orellana | 800 m | 2:04.99 | – | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | did not advance | did not advance |

## Basketball
### Men's tournament
#### Preliminary round

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United States (H) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 522 | 345 | +177 | 10 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Lithuania | 5 | 3 | 2 | 427 | 354 | +73 | 8 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Croatia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 422 | 386 | +36 | 8 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | China | 5 | 2 | 3 | 360 | 502 | −142 | 7 | Quarterfinals |
| 5 | Argentina | 5 | 2 | 3 | 351 | 396 | −45 | 7 | 9th place playoff |
| 6 | Angola | 5 | 0 | 5 | 280 | 379 | −99 | 5 | 11th place playoff |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Lithuania 1–0 Croatia
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: China 1–0 Argentina
* 20 July 1996 (1996-07-20)
* Report
| United States | 96–68 | Argentina |
| Scoring by half: 46–44, 50–24 |||
| Pts: Robinson 18 Rebs: Robinson 7 Asts: Hill, Hardaway 5 | | Pts: Espil 27 Rebs: Nicola 4 Asts: Milanesio 7 |
* Atlanta Referees: Gennaro Colucci (ITA), Stylianos Koukoulekidis (GRE)
* 22 July 1996 (1996-07-22)
* Report
| Argentina | 65–61 | Lithuania |
| Scoring by half: 31–25, 34–36 |||
| Pts: Espil 25 Rebs: Espil 6 Asts: Milanesio 6 | | Pts: Sabonis 30 Rebs: Sabonis 11 Asts: Marčiulionis 8 |
* Atlanta Referees: Carl Jungebrand (FIN), Juan Figueroa (PUR)
* 24 July 1996 (1996-07-24)
* Report
| China | 87–77 | Argentina |
| Scoring by half: 51–38, 36–39 |||
| Pts: Zheng, Hu 22 Rebs: Zheng 9 Asts: Li 5 | | Pts: Espil 25 Rebs: Pérez 7 Asts: Milanesio 8 |
* Atlanta Referees: Robert Barnett (AUS), Roman Ryzhyk (UKR)
* 26 July 1996 (1996-07-26)
* Report
| Argentina | 75–90 | Croatia |
| Scoring by half: 29–43, 46–47 |||
| Pts: Espil 17 Rebs: Osella 6 Asts: Milanesio 5 | | Pts: Komazec 28 Rebs: Kukoč 8 Asts: Komazec, Mulaomerović 3 |
* Atlanta Referees: Jose Piovesan Neto (BRA), Pascal Noel Dorizon (FRA)
* 28 July 1996 (1996-07-28)
* Report
| Argentina | 66–62 | Angola |
| Scoring by half: 27–32, 39–30 |||
| Pts: Espil 21 Rebs: Villar 6 Asts: Osella 5 | | Pts: Dias 17 Rebs: Moreira Dias 7 Asts: Avô 4 |
* Atlanta Referees: Wieslaw Zych (POL), Chong Kyoung (KOR)

#### 9th to 12th place classification

* 30 July 1996 (1996-07-30) 15:00
* Report
| Argentina | 97–79 | South Korea |
| Scoring by half: 44–41, 53–38 |||
| Pts: Espil 26 Rebs: Pérez 9 Asts: Espil 8 | | Pts: J. K. Jung 17 Rebs: H. C. Chun 8 Asts: D. H. Kang 8 |
* Atlanta Referees: Joseph Derosa (USA), Zhu Jiazhong (CHN)

#### 9th place classification

* 2 August 1996 (1996-08-02) 12:00
* Report
| Argentina | 87–77 | Puerto Rico |
| Scoring by half: 43–38, 44–39 |||
| Pts: Espil, Osella 17 Rebs: Milanesio, Oberto 7 Asts: Milanesio, Espil 7 | | Pts: Ortiz 21 Rebs: Ortiz 11 Asts: Travieso 5 |
* Atlanta Referees: Davorin Nakic (CRO), Antonio Soares De Campos (ANG)

## Boxing

| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Omar Andrés Narváez | Flyweight | Guzmán (DOM) W | Assous (ALG) L | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Pablo Chacón | Featherweight | Gray (JAM) W | Lebon (MRI) W | Nagy (HUN) W | Kamsing (THA) L | did not advance | Bronze |
| Fabrizio Nieva | Lightweight | Agentho (UGA) W | Shin (KOR) L | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Guillermo Saputo | Welterweight | Bae (KOR) L | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Oscar Gómez | Light Middleweight | Tulaganov (UKR) L (RSC) | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
Key:
* RSC – Referee stopped contest

## Canoeing
### Flatwater

| Athlete | Event | Heats | Heats | Repechage | Repechage | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Javier Correa | Men's K-1 500 m | 1:42.691 | 4 | 1:44.076 | 3 Q | 1:42.071 | 7 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Abelardo Sztrum | Men's K-1 1000 m | 3:50.547 | 3 Q | Bye | Bye | 3:44.587 | 6 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Diego Cánepa, Sergio Mangín | Men's K-2 500 m | 1:38.594 | 6 | 1:39.535 | 4 Q | 1:37.177 | 9 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Javier Correa, Abelardo Sztrum | Men's K-2 1000 m | 3:49.864 | 5 | 3:34.244 | 1 Q | 3:28.128 | 9 | did not advance | did not advance |

## Cycling
### Mountain bike

| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
| Lautaro Chávez | Men's cross-country | DNF | DNF |
| Sandra Ambrosio | Women's cross-country | DNF | DNF |

### Road

| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
| Gustavo Artacho | Men's road race | DNF | DNF |
| Rubén Pegorín | Men's road race | DNF | DNF |

### Track
#### Pursuits

| Athlete | Event | Qualifying | Qualifying | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Opposition Time | Rank | Opposition Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Ángel Colla | Men's 1000 m time trial | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1:06.619 | 17 |
| Walter Pérez | Men's individual pursuit | 4:30.715 | 7 | 4:22.826 | 8 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Gabriel Curuchet, Gonzalo García, Walter Pérez, Edgardo Simón | Men's team pursuit | 4:20.840 | 14 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |

#### Points races

| Athlete | Event | Points | Rank |
| Juan Curuchet | Men's points race | 0 | 23 |

#### Key

* DNF – Did not finish
* OVT – Overtaken

## Equestrian

| Athlete | Horse | Event | Qualifying | Qualifying | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Horse | Event | Penalties | Rank | Penalties | Rank |
| Julio Albarracín | Dinastía Pampero | Show jumping | 12.00 | =59 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Federico Castaing | Landlord | Show jumping | 28.00 | 79 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Oscar Fuentes | Henry J. Speed | Show jumping | 12.75 | =67 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Ricardo Kierkegaard | Renomme | Show jumping | 4.50 | 35 | did not advance | did not advance |

## Fencing

| Athlete | Event | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result |
| Leandro Marchetti | Men's individual foil | Falchetto (AUT) W 15–13 | Wienand (GER) L 1–15 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Alejandra Carbone | Women's individual foil | Wang (CHN) L 4–15 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Yanina Iannuzzi | Women's individual foil | Parisky (ISR) L 7–15 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Dolores Pampin | Women's individual foil | Szewczyk (POL) L 8–15 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Alejandra Carbone, Yanina Iannuzzi, Dolores Pampin | Women's team foil | N/A | N/A | Russia L 20–45 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |

## Field hockey
### Men
#### Team roster and tournament statistics

Coach: Miguel MacCormick
| No. | Player | GP | G | S | FG | PC | PS |
| 1 | Pablo Moreira (GK) | 7 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| 2 | Jorge Querejeta | 5 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| 3 | Edgardo Pailos | 7 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Diego Chiodo | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | |
| 5 | Alejandro Doherty | 7 | 0 | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Fernando Moresi | 7 | 0 | 1 | | | |
| 7 | Rodolfo Pérez | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | | |
| 8 | Carlos Retegui | 7 | 1 | 7 | 1 | | |
| 9 | Jorge Lombi | 7 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 10 | Gabriel Minadeo | 6 | 0 | 1 | | | |
| 11 | Fernando Ferrara | 7 | 4 | 13 | 3 | 1 | |
| 12 | Leandro Baccaro | 6 | 0 | 1 | | | |
| 13 | Rodolfo Schmitt | 1 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| 14 | Santiago Capurro | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | | |
| 15 | Maximiliano Caldas | 7 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| 16 | Pablo Lombi | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | | |
| Team totals | Team totals | 7 | 16 | 45 | 12 | 3 | 1 |
Legend: GP – Games Played; G – Goals; S – Shots; FG – Field Goals; PC – Penalty Corners; PS – Penalty Strokes; Green Cards; Yellow Cards; Red Cards

#### Preliminary Round (Pool A)

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| Spain | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 5 | 8 |
| Germany | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 7 |
| India | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| Pakistan | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 5 |
| Argentina | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 4 |
| United States | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 23 | 0 |
    Qualified for semifinals
* July 20 20:00
| India | 0 – 1 | Argentina |
| | | P. Lombi 65' |
* Umpires: Amin Ayman (EGY) Peter von Reth (NED)
* July 22 20:00
| United States | 2 – 5 | Argentina |
| Mellor 39' Jennings 47' | | P. Lombi 4', 11' Ferrara , Capurro 31' |
* Umpires: Yuri Platonov (RUS) Don Prior (AUS)
* July 24 17:30
| Spain | 2 – 1 | Argentina |
| Escarré 61' Arnau 65' | | P. Lombi 20' |
* Umpires: Floris Idenburg (NED) Peter von Reth (NED)
* July 26 9:00
| Germany | 3 – 0 | Argentina |
| Saliger 16' Becker 19' Bellenbaum 64' | | |
* Umpires: Floris Idenburg (NED) Don Prior (AUS)
* July 28 9:00
| Pakistan | 6 – 2 | Argentina |
| Ahmed 32', 45', 65' Sarwar 51', 58' Zaman 53' | | Pérez 65' J. Lombi 68' |
* Umpires: Amin Ayman (EGY) Craig Madden (GBR)

#### 9th to 12th place classification

* July 31 8:30
| Argentina | 4 – 4 (AET) 3 – 0 (PSO) | Malaysia |
| Retegui 14', 55' Ferrara 57' J. Lombi 69' | | Singh 26' Siva 38' Nawawi 39' Shanmuganathan 59' |
* Umpires: Kiyoshi Sana (JPN) Patrick van Beneden (BEL)

#### 9th place match

* August 1 8:30
| Argentina | 3 – 2 | South Africa |
| Ferrara 30' Capurro 36' J. Lombi 45' | | Nicol 22' Hallowes 38' |
* Umpires: Guillaume Langle (FRA) Craig Madden (GBR)

### Women
#### Team roster and tournament statistics

Coach: Rodolfo Mendoza
| No. | Player | GP | G | S | FG | PC | PS |
| 1 | Mariana Arnal (GK) | 4 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| 2 | Sofía MacKenzie | 7 | 2 | 0 | | 2 | |
| 3 | Magdalena Aicega | 7 | 0 | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Silvia Corvalán | 7 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| 5 | Anabel Gambero | 7 | 0 | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Julieta Castellán | 7 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| 7 | Gabriela Pando | 7 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| 8 | Gabriela Sánchez | 7 | 0 | 2 | | | |
| 9 | Vanina Oneto | 6 | 0 | 7 | | | |
| 10 | Jorgelina Rimoldi | 7 | 2 | 7 | 2 | | |
| 11 | Karina Masotta (C) | 7 | 2 | 4 | | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | María Castelli | 7 | 1 | 4 | | 1 | |
| 13 | Verónica Artica | 3 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| 14 | Cecilia Rognoni | 5 | 0 | 1 | | | |
| 15 | Ayelén Stepnik | 2 | 0 | 1 | | | |
| 16 | Mariana González Oliva | 6 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| Team totals | Team totals | 7 | 7 | 28 | 2 | 3 | 1 |

#### Preliminary Round

* Competed for the gold medal
* Competed for the bronze medal
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| Australia | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 4 | 13 |
| South Korea | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 9 | 10 |
| Great Britain | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 11 | 8 |
| Netherlands | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 15 | 8 |
| United States | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 6 |
| Germany | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 5 |
| Argentina | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 5 |
| Spain | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 1 |
* July 20 17:30
| Argentina | 0 – 2 | Germany |
| | | van Kooperen 17' Lätzsch 39' |
* Umpires: Renee Chatas (USA) Janice McDonald (GBR)
* July 22 09:00
| Australia | 7 – 1 | Argentina |
| Farrell 9' Powell 25' Annan 34', 49', 50' Roche 61' Powell 63' | | Rimoldi 43' |
* Umpires: Carola Heinrichs (GER) Angela Lario Ruiz (ESP)
* July 23 11:00
| Spain | 0 – 1 | Argentina |
| | | Rimoldi 44' |
* Umpires: Miriam van Gemert (NED) Janice McDonald (GBR)
* July 25 20:00
| United States | 1 – 2 | Argentina |
| Marois 26' | | Masotta 6' MacKenzie 60' |
* Umpires: Perl Buckley (AUS) Carola Heinrichs (GER)
* July 27 20:00
| Netherlands | 4 – 1 | Argentina |
| Donners 5' de Ruiter 14', 45', 48' | | Masotta 39' |
* Umpires: Angela Lario Ruiz (ESP) Gina Spitareli (ITA)
* July 28 20:00
| Argentina | 2 – 2 | South Korea |
| MacKenzie 10' Castelli 16' | | Eung Jung-Cho 33' Eung Jung-Chang 46' |
* Umpires: Renee Chatas (USA) Margaret Lanning (CAN)
* July 30 9:00
| Argentina | 0 – 5 | Great Britain |
| | | Nicholson 8', 69' Sixsmith 13', 61', 68' |
* Umpires: Perl Buckley (AUS) Renee Chatas (USA)

## Football
### Squad

    Over aged players are marked with * (max 3).
    Matches played in parentheses denotes player came from the bench.
| # | Name | Club | Date of Birth | Pld | Goals | Y | Y/R | R |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Carlos Bossio | Estudiantes de La Plata | (1973-12-01)December 1, 1973 (aged 22) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Pablo Cavallero | Vélez Sársfield | (1974-04-13)April 13, 1974 (aged 22) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Roberto Ayala | Valencia | (1973-04-14)April 14, 1973 (aged 23) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | José Chamot* | Lazio | (1969-05-17)May 17, 1969 (aged 27) | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Javier Zanetti | Internazionale | (1973-08-10)August 10, 1973 (aged 22) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Roberto Sensini* | Parma | (1966-10-12)October 12, 1966 (aged 29) | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 5 | Matías Almeyda | River Plate | (1973-12-21)December 21, 1973 (aged 22) | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Diego Simeone* | Atlético Madrid | (1970-04-28)April 28, 1970 (aged 26) | 3 (3) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Hugo Morales | Lanús | (1974-07-30)July 30, 1974 (aged 21) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Mauricio Pineda | Boca Juniors | (1975-07-13)July 13, 1975 (aged 21) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Pablo Paz | Banfield | (1973-01-27)January 27, 1973 (aged 23) | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Christian Bassedas | Vélez Sársfield | (1973-02-16)February 16, 1973 (aged 23) | 3 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Marcelo Gallardo | River Plate | (1976-01-18)January 18, 1976 (aged 20) | (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 7 | Claudio López | Valencia | (1974-07-17)July 17, 1974 (aged 22) | 5 (1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Hernán Crespo | Parma | (1975-07-05)July 5, 1975 (aged 21) | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Ariel Ortega | Valencia | (1974-03-04)March 4, 1974 (aged 22) | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Gustavo López | Real Zaragoza | (1973-04-13)April 13, 1973 (aged 23) | 2 (3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Marcelo Delgado | Racing Club | (1973-03-24)March 24, 1973 (aged 23) | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Coach |||||||||
| | Daniel Passarella | | (1953-05-25)May 25, 1953 (aged 43) | | | | | |

### Results

Preliminaries
The 1996 Men's Olympic Football Tournament, played as part of the 1996 Summer Olympics, was hosted in Birmingham, Alabama, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Florida, Miami, Florida and Athens, Georgia. From 1992 onwards, male competitors should be under 23 years old and starting from this tournament, a maximum of three over-23 players are allowed per squad. The tournament featured 16 national teams from the six continental confederations. The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four and each group played a round-robin tournament. At the end of the group stage, the top two teams advanced to the knockout stage, beginning with the quarter-finals and culminating with the gold medal match at Sanford Stadium on August 3, 1996.

## Competition schedule

The match schedule of the tournament.
| 20 Sat | 21 Sun | 22 Mon | 23 Tue | 24 Wed | 25 Thu | 26 Fri | 27 Sat | 28 Sun | 29 Lun | 30 Tue | 31 Wed | 1 Thu | 2 Fri | 3 Sat |
| G | G | G | G | G | G | | ¼ | ¼ | | ½ | ½ | | B | F |

## Venues

| Athens, Georgia | Athens, Georgia | Birmingham, Alabama | Birmingham, Alabama | Miami, Florida | Miami, Florida |
| Sanford Stadium | Sanford Stadium | Legion Field | Legion Field | Orange Bowl | Orange Bowl | OrlandoBirminghamMiamiWashington D.C.Athens |
| Capacity: 86,100 | Capacity: 86,100 | Capacity: 81,700 | Capacity: 81,700 | Capacity: 74,476 | Capacity: 74,476 | OrlandoBirminghamMiamiWashington D.C.Athens |
| Orlando, Florida | Orlando, Florida | Orlando, Florida | Washington, D.C. | Washington, D.C. | Washington, D.C. | | OrlandoBirminghamMiamiWashington D.C.Athens |
| Citrus Bowl | Citrus Bowl | Citrus Bowl | Robert F. Kennedy Stadium | Robert F. Kennedy Stadium | Robert F. Kennedy Stadium | | OrlandoBirminghamMiamiWashington D.C.Athens |
| Capacity: 65,000 | Capacity: 65,000 | Capacity: 65,000 | Capacity: 56,500 | Capacity: 56,500 | Capacity: 56,500 | | OrlandoBirminghamMiamiWashington D.C.Athens |

## Qualification

The following 16 teams qualified for the 1996 Olympic men's football tournament:
| Means of qualification | Berths | Qualified |
| Host nation | 1 | United States |
| 1996 CONCACAF Preliminary Competition | 1 | Mexico (winner) |
| 1996 AFC Preliminary Competition | 3 | South Korea (winner) Japan (runner-up) Saudi Arabia (third-place) |
| 1996 CAF Preliminary Competition | 3 | Ghana Tunisia Nigeria |
| 1996 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament | 2 | Brazil (winner) Argentina (runner-up) |
| CONCACAF–OFC play-off | 1 | Australia |
| 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship | 5 | Italy (winner) Spain (runner-up) France (third-place) Hungary (5th) Portugal (6th) |
| Total | 16 | |

## Match officials

Referees :
| Confederation | Referee |
| Male officials ||
| AFC | Omer Al Mehannah (Saudi Arabia) |
| AFC | Pirom Un-prasert (Thailand) |
| CAF | Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt) |
| CAF | Lucien Bouchardeau (Niger) |
| CONCACAF | Benito Archundia (Mexico) |
| CONCACAF | Esfandiar Baharmast (United States) |
| CONMEBOL | Antônio Pereira (Brazil) |
| CONMEBOL | Roberto Ruscio (Argentina) |
| OFC | Eddie Lennie (Australia) |
| UEFA | Pierluigi Collina (Italy) |
| UEFA | Hugh Dallas (Great Britain) |
| UEFA | José María García-Aranda (Spain) |
Fourth officials :
| Confederation | Referee |
| Female officials ||
| UEFA | Ingrid Jonsson (Sweden) |
Assistant referees :
| Confederation | Assistant referee |
| Male officials ||
| AFC | Jeon Young-hyun (South Korea) |
| AFC | Mohamed Al-Musawi (Oman) |
| CAF | Dramane Dante (Mali) |
| CAF | Amir Osman Mohamed Hamid (Sudan) |
| CONCACAF | Peter Kelly (Trinidad and Tobago) |
| CONCACAF | Luis Fernando Torres Zúñiga (Costa Rica) |
| CONMEBOL | Jorge Luis Arango (Colombia) |
| CONMEBOL | Carlos Velázquez (Uruguay) |
| OFC | Lencie Fred (Vanuatu) |
| UEFA | Yuri Dupanov (Belarus) |
| UEFA | Heiner Neuenstein (Germany) |
| UEFA | Akif Uğurdur (Turkey) |
| Female officials ||
| CONCACAF | María del Socorro Rodríguez (Mexico) |
| UEFA | Gitte Holm (Denmark) |
| UEFA | Nelly Viennot (France) |

## Seeding

The draw for the tournament took place on 5 May 1996. The United States, Spain, Ghana and Brazil were seeded for the draw and placed into groups A–D, respectively. The remaining teams, excluding those from Europe, were drawn away from teams of the same region.
| Pot 1: Host, Top-Seeded teams from Africa, Europe and South America | Pot 2: Asia, Non-top seeded team from South America | Pot 3: Non-top seeded teams from Europe | Pot 4: Non-top seeded teams from Africa and North America, Inter-continental playoff winner |
| United States  Spain  Ghana  Brazil | Argentina  Japan  South Korea  Saudi Arabia | France  Hungary  Italy  Portugal | Nigeria  Tunisia  Mexico$^1$  Australia$^2$ |
$^1$ 1996 CONCACAF Pre-Olympic Tournament Champions, team not determined at time of draw.
$^2$ CONCACAF–OFC play-off winner, team not determined at time of draw.

## Group stage
### Group A

Group A :
| Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| Argentina | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 5 | Qualified for quarterfinals |
| Portugal | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | Qualified for quarterfinals |
| United States | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| Tunisia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 | |

### Group D
## Knockout stage

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Gold medal match | Gold medal match |
| July 27 – Miami, FL | July 27 – Miami, FL | | | |
| Portugal (asdet) | 2 | | | |
| Portugal (asdet) | 2 | July 30 – Athens, GA | July 30 – Athens, GA | | |
| France | 1 | July 30 – Athens, GA | July 30 – Athens, GA | |
| France | 1 | Portugal | 0 | |
| July 27 – Birmingham, AL | July 27 – Birmingham, AL | | Portugal | 0 | |
| July 27 – Birmingham, AL | July 27 – Birmingham, AL | Argentina | 2 | |
| Argentina | 4 | Argentina | 2 | |
| Argentina | 4 | | | | August 3 – Athens, GA | August 3 – Athens, GA |
| Spain | 0 | | | | August 3 – Athens, GA | August 3 – Athens, GA |
| Spain | 0 | | | | Argentina | 2 |
| July 28 – Birmingham, AL | July 28 – Birmingham, AL | | | | | Argentina | 2 |
| July 28 – Birmingham, AL | July 28 – Birmingham, AL | | | | Nigeria | 3 |
| Mexico | 0 | | | | Nigeria | 3 |
| Mexico | 0 | July 31 – Athens, GA | July 31 – Athens, GA | | | |
| Nigeria | 2 | July 31 – Athens, GA | July 31 – Athens, GA | | | |
| Nigeria | 2 | Nigeria (asdet) | 4 | | | |
| July 28 – Miami, FL | July 28 – Miami, FL | | Nigeria (asdet) | 4 | | | |
| July 28 – Miami, FL | July 28 – Miami, FL | Brazil | 3 | | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| Brazil | 4 | Brazil | 3 | | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| Brazil | 4 | | | | August 2 – Athens, GA | August 2 – Athens, GA |
| Ghana | 2 | | | | August 2 – Athens, GA | August 2 – Athens, GA |
| Ghana | 2 | | | | Portugal | 0 |
| | | | | | Brazil | 5 |

### Gold medal match

| GK | 18 | Joseph Dosu | 90' |
| RB | 17 | Mobi Oparaku | | 61' |
| CB | 5 | Uche Okechukwu |
| CB | 3 | Taribo West |
| LB | 2 | Celestine Babayaro |
| DM | 15 | Sunday Oliseh | 22' |
| RM | 7 | Tijani Babangida |
| LM | 11 | Victor Ikpeba | | 74' |
| AM | 10 | Jay-Jay Okocha | | 59' |
| CF | 14 | Daniel Amokachi |
| CF | 4 | Nwankwo Kanu (c) |
| Substitutes: ||
| MF | 13 | Garba Lawal | | 59' |
| MF | 8 | Wilson Oruma | 70' | 61' |
| MF | 6 | Emmanuel Amunike | | 74' |
| Manager: ||
| Jo Bonfrère ||
| GK | 12 | Pablo Cavallero |
| RB | 4 | Javier Zanetti |
| CB | 2 | Roberto Ayala |
| CB | 6 | Roberto Sensini | 12' |
| LB | 3 | José Chamot |
| DM | 5 | Matías Almeyda |
| RM | 10 | Ariel Ortega |
| CM | 15 | Christian Bassedas (c) |
| LM | 11 | Hugo Morales | | 58' |
| CF | 7 | Claudio López |
| CF | 9 | Hernán Crespo |
| Substitutes: ||
| MF | 8 | Diego Simeone | | 58' |
| Manager: ||
| Daniel Passarella ||

## Final ranking

Group A :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Nigeria (NGR) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 15 |
| 2 | Argentina (ARG) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 11 |
| 3 | Brazil (BRA) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 12 |
| 4 | Portugal (POR) | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 8 |
| 5 | France (FRA) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 7 |
| 6 | Spain (ESP) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 7 |
| 7 | Mexico (MEX) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 5 |
| 8 | Ghana (GHA) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 4 |
| 9 | Japan (JPN) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 10 | United States (USA) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | South Korea (KOR) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | Italy (ITA) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 |
| 13 | Australia (AUS) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 3 |
| 14 | Tunisia (TUN) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 |
| 15 | Saudi Arabia (KSA) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 0 |
| 16 | Hungary (HUN) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 0 |

## Goalscorers

With six goals, Hernán Crespo of Argentina and Bebeto of Brazil are the top scorers of the tournament. In total, 90 goals were scored by 55 different players, with four of them credited as own goals.

### 6 goals

* Hernán Crespo
* Bebeto

### 5 goals

* Ronaldo

### 4 goals

* Marco Branca

### 3 goals

* Flávio Conceição
* Florian Maurice
* Nwankwo Kanu

### 2 goals

* Claudio López
* Ariel Ortega
* Aurelio Vidmar
* Christian Saba
* Csaba Madar
* Masakiyo Maezono
* Celestine Babayaro
* Jay-Jay Okocha
* Afonso Martins
* Óscar
* Raúl
* Brian Maisonneuve

### 1 goal

* Gustavo Adrián López
* Diego Simeone
* Peter Tsekenis
* Mark Viduka
* Juninho
* Sylvain Legwinski
* Robert Pirès
* Antoine Sibierski
* Felix Aboagye
* Augustine Ahinful
* Charles Akonnor
* Ebenezer Hagan
* Tamás Sándor
* Teruyoshi Itō
* Kenichi Uemura
* José Manuel Abundis
* Francisco Palencia
* Daniel Amokachi
* Emmanuel Amunike
* Victor Ikpeba
* Paulo Alves
* José Calado
* Capucho
* Nuno Gomes
* Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi
* Fuad Anwar Amin
* Lee Ki-hyung
* Yoon Jong-hwan
* Santi
* Mohamed Mkacher
* Jovan Kirovski
* Claudio Reyna

### Own goals

* Roberto Carlos (playing against Nigeria)
* Afo Dodoo (playing against Brazil)
* Tadahiro Akiba (playing against Nigeria)
* Agustín Aranzábal (playing against Argentina)