# Football at the 2020 Summer Olympics

The football tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 21 July to 7 August 2021 in Japan.
In addition to the Olympic host city of Tokyo, matches were also played in Kashima, Saitama, Sapporo, Rifu and Yokohama.
Two events were contested: a men's and women's competitions. Associations affiliated with FIFA may send teams to participate in the tournament. There were no age restrictions on women's teams, while men's teams were restricted to under-24 players (born on or after 1 January 1997) with a maximum of three overage players allowed. The men's tournament is typically restricted to under-23 players, though following the postponement of the Olympics by a year, FIFA decided to maintain the restriction of players born on or after 1 January 1997. In June 2020, FIFA approved the use of the video assistant referee (VAR) system at the Olympics. Teams were restricted to 18 athletes, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic, rosters were allowed to consist of up to 22 athletes.
Brazil were the men's defending champions. Germany won the previous women's tournament, but failed to qualify after losing to Sweden in the quarter-finals of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

## Schedule

| DateEvent | 21 Wed | 22 Thu | 23 Fri | 24 Sat | 25 Sun | 26 Mon | 27 Tue | 28 Wed | 29 Thu | 30 Fri | 31 Sat | 1 Sun | 2 Mon | 3 Tue | 4 Wed | 5 Thu | 6 Fri | 7 Sat |
| Men | | G | | | G | | | G | | | ¼ | | | ½ | | | B | F |
| Women | G | | | G | | | G | | | ¼ | | | ½ | | | B | F | |

## Venues

A total of six venues were used:
| Chōfu (Tokyo Area) | Saitama | Yokohama |
| Tokyo Stadium | Saitama Stadium 2002 | International Stadium Yokohama |
| Capacity: 49,970 | Capacity: 63,700 | Capacity: 72,327 |
| Kashima | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo |
| Ibaraki Kashima Stadium | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo |
| Capacity: 37,638 | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo |
| Rifu | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo |
| Miyagi Stadium | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo |
| Capacity: 49,133 | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo |
| Sapporo | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo |
| Sapporo Dome | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo |
| Capacity: 42,065 | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo | YokohamaSaitamaRifuTokyoKashimaSapporo |

## Qualification

The Organizing Committee for FIFA Competitions ratified the distribution of spots at their meeting on 14 September 2017.

### Summary

| Nation | Men's | Women's | Athletes |
| Argentina | | | 22 |
| Australia | | | 44 |
| Brazil | | | 44 |
| Canada | | | 22 |
| Chile | | | 22 |
| China | | | 22 |
| Egypt | | | 22 |
| France | | | 21 |
| Great Britain | | | 22 |
| Ivory Coast | | | 21 |
| Germany | | | 19 |
| Honduras | | | 22 |
| Japan | | | 44 |
| Mexico | | | 22 |
| New Zealand | | | 44 |
| Netherlands | | | 22 |
| Romania | | | 22 |
| South Africa | | | 19 |
| Saudi Arabia | | | 22 |
| South Korea | | | 22 |
| Spain | | | 22 |
| Sweden | | | 22 |
| United States | | | 22 |
| Zambia | | | 22 |
| Total: 24 NOCs | 16 | 12 | 608 |

### Men's qualification

In addition to the host nation Japan, 15 men's national teams qualified from six separate continental confederations.
| Means of qualification | Dates | Venue(s) | Berth(s) | Qualified |
| Host nation | — | — | 1 | Japan |
| 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship | 16–30 June 2019 | Italy San Marino | 4 | Spain Germany France Romania |
| 2019 OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament | 21 September – 5 October 2019 | Fiji | 1 | New Zealand |
| 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations | 8–22 November 2019 | Egypt | 3 | Egypt Ivory Coast South Africa |
| 2020 AFC U-23 Championship | 8–26 January 2020 | Thailand | 3 | South Korea Saudi Arabia Australia |
| 2020 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament | 18 January – 9 February 2020 | Colombia | 2 | Argentina Brazil |
| 2020 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship | 18–30 March 2021 | Mexico | 2 | Mexico Honduras |
| Total | | | 16 | |
* ^1 Dates and venues are those of final tournaments (or final round of qualification tournaments), various qualification stages may precede matches at these specific venues.

### Women's qualification

In addition to hosts Japan, 11 women's national teams qualified from six separate continental confederations.
For the first time, as per an agreement between the four British football associations (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales), Great Britain qualified for the Olympics through England's performance in the World Cup (a procedure already successfully employed by Team GB in field hockey and rugby sevens). Scotland also participated in the World Cup but, under the agreement whereby the highest ranked home nation is nominated to compete for the purposes of Olympic qualification, their performance was not taken into account.
| Means of qualification | Dates | Venue(s) | Berth(s) | Qualified |
| Host nation | — | — | 1 | Japan |
| 2018 Copa América | 4–22 April 2018 | Chile | 1 | Brazil |
| 2018 OFC Nations Cup | 18 November – 1 December 2018 | New Caledonia | 1 | New Zealand |
| 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup (as UEFA qualifying) | 7 June – 7 July 2019 | France | 3 | Netherlands Sweden Great Britain |
| 2020 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship | 28 January – 9 February 2020 | United States | 2 | United States Canada |
| 2020 CAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament | 5–10 March 2020 | Multiple | 1 | Zambia |
| 2020 AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament | 6–11 March 2020 & 8–13 April 2021 | Multiple | 2 | Australia China |
| CAF–CONMEBOL play-off | 10–13 April 2021 | Turkey | 1 | Chile |
| Total | | | 12 | |
* ^2 Dates and venues are those of final tournaments (or final round of qualification tournaments), various qualification stages may precede matches at these specific venues.

## Final draw

The draws for the men's and women's tournaments was held on 21 April 2021, 10:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the FIFA headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland.

## Medal summary
### Medal table

| Rank | NOC | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Brazil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Canada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Spain | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Sweden | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Mexico | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | United States | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (6 entries) | Totals (6 entries) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |

### Medalists

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Men details | Brazil Aderbar Santos Gabriel Menino Diego Carlos Ricardo Graça Douglas Luiz Guilherme Arana Paulinho Bruno Guimarães Matheus Cunha Richarlison Antony Brenno Dani Alves Bruno Fuchs Nino Abner Malcom Matheus Henrique Reinier Jesus Claudinho Gabriel Martinelli Lucão | Spain Unai Simón Óscar Mingueza Marc Cucurella Pau Torres Jesús Vallejo Martín Zubimendi Marco Asensio Mikel Merino Rafa Mir Dani Ceballos Mikel Oyarzabal Eric García Álvaro Fernández Carlos Soler Jon Moncayola Pedri Javi Puado Óscar Gil Dani Olmo Juan Miranda Bryan Gil Iván Villar | Mexico Luis Malagón Jorge Sánchez César Montes Jesús Angulo Johan Vásquez Vladimir Loroña Luis Romo Carlos Rodríguez Henry Martín Diego Lainez Alexis Vega Adrián Mora Guillermo Ochoa Érick Aguirre Uriel Antuna José Joaquín Esquivel Sebastián Córdova Eduardo Aguirre Ricardo Angulo Fernando Beltrán Roberto Alvarado Sebastián Jurado |
| Women details | Canada Stephanie Labbé Allysha Chapman Kadeisha Buchanan Shelina Zadorsky Quinn Deanne Rose Julia Grosso Jayde Riviere Adriana Leon Ashley Lawrence Desiree Scott Christine Sinclair Évelyne Viens Vanessa Gilles Nichelle Prince Janine Beckie Jessie Fleming Kailen Sheridan Jordyn Huitema Sophie Schmidt Gabrielle Carle Erin McLeod | Sweden Hedvig Lindahl Jonna Andersson Emma Kullberg Hanna Glas Hanna Bennison Magdalena Eriksson Madelen Janogy Lina Hurtig Kosovare Asllani Sofia Jakobsson Stina Blackstenius Jennifer Falk Amanda Ilestedt Nathalie Björn Olivia Schough Filippa Angeldal Caroline Seger Fridolina Rolfö Anna Anvegård Julia Roddar Rebecka Blomqvist Zećira Mušović | United States Alyssa Naeher Crystal Dunn Sam Mewis Becky Sauerbrunn Kelley O'Hara Kristie Mewis Tobin Heath Julie Ertz Lindsey Horan Carli Lloyd Christen Press Tierna Davidson Alex Morgan Emily Sonnett Megan Rapinoe Rose Lavelle Abby Dahlkemper Adrianna Franch Catarina Macario Casey Krueger Lynn Williams Jane Campbell |

## Men's competition

The competition consisted of two stages: a group stage with four groups of four teams, followed by a knockout stage contested by eight teams which advanced as group winners and runners-up. The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. The hosts Japan were automatically seeded into Pot 1 and assigned to position A1, while the remaining teams were seeded into their respective pots based on their results in the last five Olympics (more recent tournaments weighted more heavily), with bonus points awarded to confederation champions. No group could contain more than one team from each confederation.

### Group stage
#### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Japan (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Mexico | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | France | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 3 | |
| 4 | South Africa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 0 | |

#### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | South Korea | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Romania | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 4 | |
| 4 | Honduras | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 3 | |

#### Group C

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Spain | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Egypt | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Argentina | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | |

#### Group D

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Brazil | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Ivory Coast | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Germany | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 0 | |

### Knockout stage

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Gold medal match | Gold medal match |
| 31 July – Yokohama | 31 July – Yokohama | | | |
| South Korea | 3 | | | |
| South Korea | 3 | 3 August – Kashima | 3 August – Kashima | | |
| Mexico | 6 | 3 August – Kashima | 3 August – Kashima | |
| Mexico | 6 | Mexico | 0 (1) | |
| 31 July – Saitama | 31 July – Saitama | | Mexico | 0 (1) | |
| 31 July – Saitama | 31 July – Saitama | Brazil (p) | 0 (4) | |
| Brazil | 1 | Brazil (p) | 0 (4) | |
| Brazil | 1 | | | | 7 August – Yokohama | 7 August – Yokohama |
| Egypt | 0 | | | | 7 August – Yokohama | 7 August – Yokohama |
| Egypt | 0 | | | | Brazil (a.e.t.) | 2 |
| 31 July – Kashima | 31 July – Kashima | | | | | Brazil (a.e.t.) | 2 |
| 31 July – Kashima | 31 July – Kashima | | | | Spain | 1 |
| Japan (p) | 0 (4) | | | | Spain | 1 |
| Japan (p) | 0 (4) | 3 August – Saitama | 3 August – Saitama | | | |
| New Zealand | 0 (2) | 3 August – Saitama | 3 August – Saitama | | | |
| New Zealand | 0 (2) | Japan | 0 | | | |
| 31 July – Rifu | 31 July – Rifu | | Japan | 0 | | | |
| 31 July – Rifu | 31 July – Rifu | Spain (a.e.t.) | 1 | | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| Spain (a.e.t.) | 5 | Spain (a.e.t.) | 1 | | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| Spain (a.e.t.) | 5 | | | | 6 August – Saitama | 6 August – Saitama |
| Ivory Coast | 2 | | | | 6 August – Saitama | 6 August – Saitama |
| Ivory Coast | 2 | | | | Mexico | 3 |
| | | | | | Japan | 1 |

## Women's competition

The competition consisted of two stages: a group stage with three groups of four teams, followed by a knockout stage contested by eight teams which advanced as group winners and runners-up plus the two best third-placed teams. The 12 teams will be drawn into three groups of four teams. The hosts Japan were automatically seeded into Pot 1 and assigned to position E1, while the remaining teams were seeded into their respective pots based on the FIFA Women's World Rankings released on 16 April 2021. As Great Britain are not a FIFA member and therefore do not have a ranking, they would be seeded based on the FIFA ranking of England, who qualified on behalf of Great Britain. No group could contain more than one team from each confederation.

### Group stage
#### Group E

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Great Britain | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Canada | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Japan (H) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 4 | Chile | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0 | |

#### Group F

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 8 | +13 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Brazil | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Zambia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 15 | −8 | 1 | |
| 4 | China | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 17 | −11 | 1 | |

#### Group G

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sweden | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | United States | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 4 | New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0 | |

### Knockout stage

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Gold medal match | Gold medal match |
| 30 July – Kashima | 30 July – Kashima | | | |
| Great Britain | 3 | | | |
| Great Britain | 3 | 2 August – Yokohama | 2 August – Yokohama | | |
| Australia (a.e.t.) | 4 | 2 August – Yokohama | 2 August – Yokohama | |
| Australia (a.e.t.) | 4 | Australia | 0 | |
| 30 July – Saitama | 30 July – Saitama | | Australia | 0 | |
| 30 July – Saitama | 30 July – Saitama | Sweden | 1 | |
| Sweden | 3 | Sweden | 1 | |
| Sweden | 3 | | | | 6 August – Yokohama | 6 August – Yokohama |
| Japan | 1 | | | | 6 August – Yokohama | 6 August – Yokohama |
| Japan | 1 | | | | Sweden | 1 (2) |
| 30 July – Yokohama | 30 July – Yokohama | | | | | Sweden | 1 (2) |
| 30 July – Yokohama | 30 July – Yokohama | | | | Canada (p) | 1 (3) |
| Netherlands | 2 (2) | | | | Canada (p) | 1 (3) |
| Netherlands | 2 (2) | 2 August – Kashima | 2 August – Kashima | | | |
| United States (p) | 2 (4) | 2 August – Kashima | 2 August – Kashima | | | |
| United States (p) | 2 (4) | United States | 0 | | | |
| 30 July – Rifu | 30 July – Rifu | | United States | 0 | | | |
| 30 July – Rifu | 30 July – Rifu | Canada | 1 | | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| Canada (p) | 0 (4) | Canada | 1 | | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| Canada (p) | 0 (4) | | | | 5 August – Kashima | 5 August – Kashima |
| Brazil | 0 (3) | | | | 5 August – Kashima | 5 August – Kashima |
| Brazil | 0 (3) | | | | Australia | 3 |
| | | | | | United States | 4 |