Football at the Summer Olympics

Football was not included in the program at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, as international football was in its fancy at the time. However, sources claim that an unofficial football tournament was organised during the first competition, with participating teams including Athens and Smyrna (Izmir), then part of the Ottoman Empire.[4] According to Bill Mallon's research, this is an error which has been perpetuated in multiple texts.[5]

Tournaments were played at the 1900 and 1904 games and the Intercalated Games of 1906, but these were contested by various clubs and scratch teams.[4] Although the IOC considers the 1900 and 1904 tournaments to be official Olympic events, they are not recognised by FIFA, and neither recognises the Intercalated Games today. In 1906 teams from Great Britain, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and France withdrew from an unofficial competition and left Denmark, Smyrna (one Armenian, two Frenchmen and eight Britons), Athens and Thessaloniki to compete. Denmark won the final against Athens 9–0.

In the London Games of 1908 a proper international tournament was organised by the Football Association, featuring just six teams. The number of teams rose to eleven in 1912, when the competition was organised by the Swedish Football Association. Many of these early matches were unbalanced, as evidenced by high scoring games; two players, Sophus Nielsen in 1908 and Gottfried Fuchs in 1912, each scored ten goals in a single match. All players were amateurs, in accordance with the Olympic rules, which meant that countries could not send their full senior national teams. The National Olympic Committee for Great Britain and Ireland asked the Football Association to send an English national amateur team. Some of the English members played with professional clubs, most notably Derby County's Ivan Sharpe, Bradford City F.C. Harold Walden and Chelsea's Vivian Woodward. England won the first two official tournaments convincingly, beating Denmark both times.

The Uruguay national football team that won the 1928 Olympic tournament

During the 1920 final against Belgium, the Czechoslovakia national football team walked off the field to protest the refereeing of John Lewis[6] and the militarised mood within the stadium in Antwerp. This would be the final all-European football competition at the Olympic games, with Egypt, the United States, and Uruguay participating in 1924.[6] With teams from new regions the quality of play increased, as did fan interest.[6] Uruguay dominated the tournament, winning their four games by a combined score of 15-1: the final was a 3–0 victory over Switzerland.[6] In 1928, football was the most popular event at the games[7] and the final was an all-South American affair. Because no other major international tournament existed yet, Uruguay defeated Argentina 2–1 in what David Goldblatt says was "football's first world championship".[8] After these tournaments, FIFA realized that the Olympic movement prevented nations from competing on an equal footing and, given that the Olympics only permitted amateurs to participate, did not represent the true strength of the international game. The popularity of international soccer gave FIFA the inventive to create an international tournament, and FIFA began organising the World Cup.[7]

Following Jules Rimet's proposal in 1929 to initiate a professional World Championship of Football, the sport was dropped from the 1932 Los Angeles Games by FIFA in an attempt to promote the new tournament. Football returned to controversy at the 1936 Berlin Games. The German organisers were intent on the return of the game to the Olympic movement since it guaranteed income into the organisation's coffers. The Italian team intimidated a referee. Peru scored a contested victory over Austria in overtime, with a fan invasion of the field at the very end. The Austrian team asked for the result to be annulled, and the game repeated. FIFA agreed, but the Peruvian team refused and left the Olympics.[9][10]

As professionalism spread around the world, the gap in quality between the World Cup and the Olympics widened. The countries that benefited most were the Soviet Bloc countries of Eastern Europe, where top athletes were state-sponsored while retaining their status as amateurs. As a result, young Western amateurs had to face seasoned and veteran Soviet Bloc teams, which put them at a significant disadvantage. All Olympic football tournaments from 1948 to 1980 were dominated by the Soviet Union and its satellites.[11] Between 1948 and 1988, 25 out of 34 Olympic medals were won by Eastern Europe, with only Sweden (gold in 1948 and bronze in 1952), Denmark (bronze in 1948 and silver in 1960) and Japan (bronze in 1968) breaking their dominance, the last two of these seeing some changes due to FIFA's changing of the call-up rules, with only Yugoslavia (bronze in 1984) and the Soviet Union (gold in 1988) winning medals for the Eastern Bloc.

For the 1984 Los Angeles Games, the IOC decided to admit professional players. FIFA still did not want the Olympics to rival the World Cup, so a compromise was struck that allowed teams from countries outside of UEFA and CONMEBOL to field their strongest sides, while restricting UEFA and CONMEBOL (the strongest confederations whose teams played all finals and won every single World Cup title) countries to players who had not played in a World Cup. The 1984 rules were maintained also for the 1988 edition, but with an additional paragraph: those European and South American footballers who had previously played less than 90 minutes in one single match of the World Cup, were eligible.[12]

Since 1992 male competitors have been required to be under 23 years old; since 1996, a maximum of three over-23-year-old players have been allowed per squad.[note 2] African countries have taken particular advantage of this, with Nigeria and Cameroon winning in 1996 and 2000 respectively.

Because of the unusual format and the separation from the main national teams that play the World Cup and top continental tournaments, historically strong men's national teams have unimpressive Olympic records. Uruguay, who won the two tournaments prior to the World Cup's creation, only qualified again in 2012, after an 84-year absence. Argentina won silver twice (1928 and 1996) before the 2004 tournament, but its appearance in Athens 2004, in which it won the first gold medal, was only their seventh overall. Brazil's silver medals in the 1984, 1988 and 2012 editions were the best they had achieved until 2016's gold. Italy has only won the Olympic title once, in 1936, although along with the two bronzes, the team has the highest number of appearances in the tournament, with 15, the last in 2008. France won the Olympic title in 1984, but only qualified twice ever since. A team from Germany won the gold medal only once, in 1976 (East Germany), and the reunified team did not make an Olympic appearance until 2016, when they won silver. Spain has won gold as hosts in 1992, and followed it with two silver medals (in 2000 and 2020, having also gotten a third in 1920), along with a few failures to qualify.

Football in the United Kingdom has no single governing body, and there are separate teams for the UK's four Home Nations: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Only the English Football Association (FA) is affiliated to the British Olympic Association (BOA), and the FA entered "Great Britain" teams to the football tournaments until 1972. In 1974, the FA abolished the distinction between "amateur" and "professional" football, and stopped entering the Olympics. Even though FIFA has allowed professionals at the Olympics since 1984, the FA did not re-enter, as the Home Nations feared that a united British Olympic team would set a precedent that might cause FIFA to question their separate status in other FIFA competitions and on the International Football Association Board.[14][15]

When London was selected to host the 2012 Games, there was pressure on the English FA to exercise the host nation's automatic right to field a team.[16] In 2009 the plan agreed by the FA with the Welsh FA, Scottish FA and Irish FA was only to field English players;[17] however the BOA overruled this,[18] and ultimately there were Welsh players in the men's squad and Scots in the women's squad.[19] After the 2012 games, the FA decided that no team would be entered in subsequent women's tournaments, but was open to fielding a women's team again.[20]

For the 2020 tournament, FIFA stated that women's UK team (not applied to men's UK team) may enter the Olympics after the four FAs agreed, depending on the performance of women's English team in 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup (which serves as the European qualification for the Olympics).[21][22]

Numbers refer to the final placing of each team at the respective Games. Host nation is shown in bold.

UEFA
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Austria	–	–		–	6	–	–	–	2	11	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
Belarus	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	–	–	1
Belgium	3	–		–	–	1	15	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	–		5
Bulgaria	–	–		–	–	–	10	–	–	–	17	3	5	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5
Czech Republic	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	–		1
Czechoslovakia	–	–		–	–	9	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	9	–	–	1	WD	–	Split into Slovakia and Czech Republic									5
Denmark	–	–		2	2	10	–	–	–	3	5	–	2	–	–	6	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	9
East Germany[26]	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	WD	–	–	3	–	3	1	2	WD	–	Merged with West Germany									4
Estonia	–	–		–	–	–	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Finland	–	–		–	4	–	–	–	9	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
France	2	–		5	–	4	5	9	–	5	17	–	9	–	7	–	5	–	1	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	13	Q	14
Germany[27]	–	–		–	7	–	–	5	5	–	4	9	–	–	–	5	–	–	5	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	9		10
Great Britain	1	–		1	1	11	–	–	5	4	17	5	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–		10
Greece	–	–		–	–	13	–	–	–	–	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	3
Hungary	–	–		–	5	–	13	–	9	–	1	WD	3	1	1	2	–	–	–	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9
Ireland	–	–		–	–	–	7	–	–	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
Israel	Competed with Asia (qualified 2 times)																	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		2
Italy	–	–		–	8	5	6	3	1	5	9	–	4	DSQ	–	–	–	–	4	4	5	12	5	3	5	–	–	–		15
Latvia	–	–		–	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Lithuania	–	–		–	–	–	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Luxembourg	–	–		–	–	12	11	9	9	9	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6
Netherlands	–	–		3	3	3	4	9	–	9	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	–	–	–		8
Norway	–	–		–	9	7	–	–	3	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		5
Poland	–	–		–	–	–	17	–	4	–	9	–	10	–	–	1	2	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7
Portugal	–	–		–	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	14	–	–	6	–		4
Romania	–	–		–	–	–	14	–	–	–	17	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11		4
Russia	–	–		–	10	–	Unified into 15 nations as Soviet Union														–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Serbia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	–	–	–	1
Serbia and Montenegro	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16	Split into 2 nations					1
Slovakia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Soviet Union	As Russian Empire					–	–	–	–	–	9	1	–	–	–	3	3	3	WD	1	Split into 15 nations									6
Spain	–	–		–	–	2	17	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	12	10	–	–	1	6	2	–	–	14	–	2		11
Sweden	–	–		4	11	6	3	–	9	1	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	6	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	10
Switzerland	–	–		–	–	–	2	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	–		3
Turkey	–	–		–	–	–	17	9	9	5	5	WD	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6
Yugoslavia	–	–		–	–	9	17	9	–	2	2	2	1	6	–	–	–	4	3	10	–	Split into 7 nations								11
CONMEBOL
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Argentina	–	–		–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	7	10	–	–	–	WD	–	8	–	2	–	1	1	–	11	10		9
Brazil	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	6	9	13	13	4	–	2	2	–	3	7	–	3	2	1	1		14
Chile	–	–		–	–	–	–	17	–	–	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	–	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–		4
Colombia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	11	–	11	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	6	–		5
Paraguay	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	–	–	2	–	–	–	–		2
Peru	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	11	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		2
Uruguay	–	–		–	–	–	1	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	WD	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	–		3
Venezuela	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
CONCACAF
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Canada	–	1		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
Costa Rica	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16	13	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	3
Cuba	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	7	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
Dominican Republic	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	Q	1
El Salvador	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Guatemala	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	10	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
Honduras	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	16	7	4	14	–	5
Mexico	–	–		–	–	–	–	9	–	11	–	–	–	11	4	7	9	–	–	DSQ	10	7	–	10	–	1	9	3	–	12
Netherlands Antilles	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	Split into 2 nations				1
United States	–	2[28]	3	–	–	–	12	9	9	11	17	5	–	–	–	14	–	WD	9	12	9	10	4	–	9	–	–	–	Q	15
CAF
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Algeria	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–		2
Cameroon	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	–	–	1	–	8	–	–	–		3
Egypt	–	–		–	–	8	8	4	9	11	9	WD	12	4	–	–	–	WD	8	–	12	–	–	–	–	8	–	8		12
Ivory Coast	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	7		2
Gabon	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	–		1
Ghana	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	12	16	WD	WD	–	–	3	8	–	9	–	–	–	–		6
Guinea	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
Mali	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	–		1
Morocco	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	WD	8	–	–	12	–	15	–	16	10	–	11	–	–		7
Nigeria	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	WD	13	–	15	–	1	8	–	2	–	3	–		7
Senegal	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–		1
South Africa	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	–	–	13	16		3
Sudan	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
Tunisia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	14	–	12	–	–	–	–		4
Zambia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	WD	15	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		2
AFC
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Afghanistan	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
Australia	Competed with Oceania (qualified 6 times)																								11	–	–	12		2
China	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	9	11	–	WD	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	–		4
Chinese Taipei	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	−	−	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
India	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	11	17	4	13	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		4
Indonesia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
Iran	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	12	7	WD	−	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		3
Iraq	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	14	9	–	–	–	4	–	–	12	–		5
Israel	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	6	–	Competed with Europe											2
Japan	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	9	–	8	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	6	13	15	4	10	4		11
Kuwait	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	16	–	12	–	–	–	–	–		3
Malaysia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	WD	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
Myanmar	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
North Korea	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	WD	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
Qatar	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		2
Saudi Arabia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	15		3
South Korea	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	11	11	11	9	6	10	3	5	5		11
Syria	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
Thailand	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		2
United Arab Emirates	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–		1
OFC
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Australia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	4	13	15	7	AFC (qualified 2 times)					6
Fiji	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16	–		1
New Zealand	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	16	–	6		3
Total nations	3	2		5	11	14	22	17	16	18	25	11	16	14	16	16	13	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16

Ed.	Year	Host	Gold medal match			Bronze medal match			Num. teams
			Gold medal	Score	Silver medal	Bronze medal	Score	Fourth place
– [n 3]	1896	Athens	Denmark [n 4]	? [n 5]	Greece [n 6]	– [n 7]	– [n 7]	– [n 7]	2
1 [n 8]	1900	Paris	Great Britain [n 9]	– [n 10]	France [n 11]	Belgium [n 12]	– [n 10]	– [n 13]	3
2 [n 8]	1904	St. Louis	Canada [n 14]	– [n 10]	United States [n 15]	United States [n 16]	– [n 10]	– [n 13]	3
3	1908	London	Great Britain	2–0	Denmark	Netherlands	2–0	Sweden	6
4	1912	Stockholm	Great Britain	4–2	Denmark	Netherlands	9–0	Finland	11
5	1920	Antwerp	Belgium	– [n 17]	Spain	Netherlands	– [n 17]	France	15
6	1924	Paris	Uruguay	3–0	Switzerland	Sweden	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Netherlands	22
							3–1
7	1928	Amsterdam	Uruguay	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Argentina	Italy	11–3	Egypt	17
				2–1
–	1932	Los Angeles	(No tournament held)
8	1936	Berlin	Italy	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Austria	Norway	3–2	Poland	16
9	1948	London	Sweden	3–1	Yugoslavia	Denmark	5–3	Great Britain	18
10	1952	Helsinki	Hungary	2–0	Yugoslavia	Sweden	2–0	Germany	25
11	1956	Melbourne	Soviet Union	1–0	Yugoslavia	Bulgaria	3–0	India	11
12	1960	Rome	Yugoslavia	3–1	Denmark	Hungary	2–1	Italy	16
13	1964	Tokyo	Hungary	2–1	Czechoslovakia	Germany [26]	3–1	United Arab	14
14	1968	Mexico City	Hungary	4–1	Bulgaria	Japan	2–0	Mexico	16
15	1972	Munich	Poland	2–1	Hungary	East Germany  Soviet Union	2–2 (a.e.t.)	– [n 18]	16
16	1976	Montreal	East Germany	3–1	Poland	Soviet Union	2–0	Brazil	13
17	1980	Moscow	Czechoslovakia	1–0	East Germany	Soviet Union	2–0	Yugoslavia	16
18	1984	Los Angeles	France	2–0	Brazil	Yugoslavia	2–1	Italy	16
19	1988	Seoul	Soviet Union	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Brazil	Germany	3–0	Italy	16
20	1992	Barcelona	Spain	3–2	Poland	Ghana	1–0	Australia	16
21	1996	Atlanta	Nigeria	3–2	Argentina	Brazil	5–0	Portugal	16
22	2000	Sydney	Cameroon	2–2 (5–3 p)	Spain	Chile	2–0	United States	16
23	2004	Athens	Argentina	1–0	Paraguay	Italy	1–0	Iraq	16
24	2008	Beijing	Argentina	1–0	Nigeria	Brazil	3–0	Belgium	16
25	2012	London	Mexico	2–1	Brazil	South Korea	2–0	Japan	16
26	2016	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	1–1 (5–4 p)	Germany	Nigeria	3–2	Honduras	16
27	2020	Tokyo	Brazil	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Spain	Mexico	3–1	Japan	16
28	2024	Paris	TBD		TBD	TBD		TBD

Notes

Below are the 41 nations that have reached at least the semi-final stage in the Summer Olympics finals.

Team	Gold medals	Silver medals	Bronze medals	Fourth place	Medals
Hungary	3 (1952, 1964, 1968)	1 (1972)	1 (1960)		5
Great Britain	3 (1900, 1908, 1912)			1 (1948)	4
Brazil	2 (2016, 2020)	3 (1984, 1988, 2012)	2 (1996, 2008)	1 (1976)	7
Argentina	2 (2004, 2008)	2 (1928, 1996)			4
Soviet Union	2 (1956, 1988)		3 (1972, 1976, 1980)		5
Uruguay	2 (1924, 1928)				2
Yugoslavia	1 (1960)	3 (1948, 1952, 1956)	1 (1984)	1 (1980)	5
Spain	1 (1992)	3 (1920, 2000, 2020)			4
Poland	1 (1972)	2 (1976, 1992)		1 (1936)	3
East Germany	1 (1976)	1 (1980)	1 (1972)		3
Nigeria	1 (1996)	1 (2008)	1 (2016)		3
France	1 (1984)	1 (1900)		1 (1920)	2
Czechoslovakia	1 (1980)	1 (1964)			2
Italy	1 (1936)		2 (1928, 2004)	3 (1960, 1984, 1988)	3
Sweden	1 (1948)		2 (1924, 1952)	1 (1908)	3
Mexico	1 (2012)		1 (2020)	1 (1968)	2
Belgium	1 (1920)		1 (1900)	1 (2008)	2
Canada	1 (1904)				1
Cameroon	1 (2000)				1
Denmark		3 (1908, 1912, 1960)	1 (1948)		4
United States		1 (1904)	1 (1904)	1 (2000)	2
Bulgaria		1 (1968)	1 (1956)		2
Germany		1 (2016)		1 (1952)	1
Switzerland		1 (1924)			1
Austria		1 (1936)			1
Paraguay		1 (2004)			1
Netherlands			3 (1908, 1912, 1920)	1 (1924)	3
Japan			1 (1968)	2 (2012, 2020)	1
Norway			1 (1936)		1
United Team of Germany			1 (1964)		1
West Germany			1 (1988)		1
Ghana			1 (1992)		1
Chile			1 (2000)		1
South Korea			1 (2012)		1
Egypt				2 (1928, 1964)	0
Finland				1 (1912)	0
India				1 (1956)	0
Australia				1 (1992)	0
Portugal				1 (1996)	0
Iraq				1 (2004)	0
Honduras				1 (2016)	0

Starting with the first official football tournament in London in 1908, Denmark's Sophus Nielsen and Hungary's Antal Dunai share the record for the most total goals scored by a player in tournament history. Both have 13 goals: Nielsen scored 11 goals in 1908 and two in 1912, and Dunai scored six in 1968 and seven in 1972. Ferenc Bene holds the record for the most goals scored by a player in a single Olympics tournament, scoring 12 goals in the 1964 edition. Sophus Nielsen and Gottfried Fuchs share the record for most goals scored in a single Olympic match at 10. Nielson achieved that in the semi-final match against France in 1908, and Fuchs did so in the first-round match against Russia in the 1912 consolation tournament.

Neymar scored the fastest goal in a men's Olympic football match in history, 14 seconds into the semi-final match against Honduras on 17 August 2016.[34]

The all-time top goalscorers with at least 7 goals (since 1908)

Rank	Name	Team	Goals
1	Sophus Nielsen	Denmark	13
	Antal Dunai	Hungary	13
3	Ferenc Bene	Hungary	12
4	Domingo Tarasconi	Argentina	11
	Pedro Petrone	Uruguay	11
6	Gottfried Fuchs	Germany	10
	Kazimierz Deyna	Poland	10
8	Harold Walden	Great Britain	9
	Vilhelm Wolfhagen	Denmark	9
10	Jan Vos	Netherlands	8
	Hector Scarone	Uruguay	8
	Carlos Tevez	Argentina	8
	Bebeto	Brazil	8
	Harald Nielsen	Denmark	8
	Ibrahim Reyadh	Egypt	8
15	John Hansen	Denmark	7
	Anthon Olsen	Denmark	7
	Gunnar Nordahl	Sweden	7
	Annibale Frossi	Italy	7
	Vilhelm Wolfhagen	Denmark	7
	Herbert Carlsson	Sweden	7
	Branko Zebec	Yugoslavia	7
	Milan Galić	Yugoslavia	7
	Kunishige Kamamoto	Japan	7
	Andrzej Juskowiak	Poland	7
	Romario	Brazil	7
	Neymar	Brazil	7

Since the first official tournament in 1908 in England, 99 hat-tricks have been scored in over 1,000 matches of the 25 editions of the tournament.

• Countries ranked by total medals won including 1900 and 1904.
• Bronze medals shared in 1972 tournament

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Hungary (HUN)	3	1	1	5
2	Great Britain (GBR)	3	0	0	3
3	Brazil (BRA)	2	3	2	7
4	Argentina (ARG)	2	2	0	4
5	Soviet Union (URS)	2	0	3	5
6	Uruguay (URU)	2	0	0	2
7	Yugoslavia (YUG)	1	3	1	5
8	Spain (ESP)	1	3	0	4
9	Poland (POL)	1	2	0	3
10	East Germany (GDR)	1	1	1	3
	Nigeria (NGR)	1	1	1	3
12	Czechoslovakia (TCH)	1	1	0	2
	France (FRA)	1	1	0	2
14	Italy (ITA)	1	0	2	3
	Sweden (SWE)	1	0	2	3
16	Belgium (BEL)	1	0	1	2
	Mexico (MEX)	1	0	1	2
18	Cameroon (CMR)	1	0	0	1
	Canada (CAN)	1	0	0	1
20	Denmark (DEN)	0	3	1	4
21	Bulgaria (BUL)	0	1	1	2
	United States (USA)	0	1	1	2
23	Austria (AUT)	0	1	0	1
	Germany (GER)	0	1	0	1
	Paraguay (PAR)	0	1	0	1
	Switzerland (SUI)	0	1	0	1
27	Netherlands (NED)	0	0	3	3
28	Chile (CHI)	0	0	1	1
	Ghana (GHA)	0	0	1	1
	Japan (JPN)	0	0	1	1
	Norway (NOR)	0	0	1	1
	South Korea (KOR)	0	0	1	1
	United Team of Germany (EUA)	0	0	1	1
	West Germany (FRG)	0	0	1	1
Totals (34 entries)		27	27	28	82

Numbers refer to the final placing of each team at the respective Games. Host nation is shown in bold.

UEFA
Nation	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Denmark	8	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
France	–	–	–	–	4	6	–	Q	3
Germany	5	3	3	3	–	1	–		5
Great Britain	–	–	–	–	5	–	7		2
Greece	–	–	10	–	–	–	–	–	1
Netherlands	–	–	–	–	–	–	5		1
Norway	3	1	–	7	–	–	–		3
Sweden	6	6	4	6	7	2	2		7
CONMEBOL
Nation	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Argentina	–	–	–	11	–	–	–	–	1
Brazil	4	4	2	2	6	4	6	Q	8
Chile	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	1
Colombia	–	–	–	–	11	11	–	Q	3
CONCACAF
Nation	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Canada	–	–	–	8	3	3	1		4
Mexico	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	1
United States	1	2	1	1	1	5	3	Q	8
CAF
Nation	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Cameroon	–	–	–	–	12	–	–		1
Nigeria	–	8	6	11	–	–	–		3
South Africa	–	–	–	–	10	10	–		2
Zambia	–	–	–	–	–	–	9		1
Zimbabwe	–	–	–	–	–	12	–		1
AFC
Nation	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Australia	OFC (q. 2 t.)			–	–	7	4		2
China	2	5	9	5	–	8	10		6
Japan	7	–	7	4	2	–	8		5
North Korea	–	–	–	9	9	–	–		2
OFC
Nation	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Australia	–	7	5	AFC (qualified 2 times)					2
New Zealand	–	–	–	10	8	9	12		4
Total nations	8	8	10	12	12	12	12	12