MATCH PREVIEW | City of Light illuminates an Olympic dream
With one gold, three silvers, and 104 years of Olympic competition, the Men's Olympic Team aims to add to their medal tally in Paris, in what will be their twelfth appearance at the Olympic Games. The history of Spanish football at the Olympics has given us numerous memorable and magical moments. From a debut silver to the golden 'quinta del Cobi' in Barcelona '92, and reaching the second step of the podium in Sydney, to the last silver won in Tokyo three years ago.
Uzbekistan vs Spain, starting at 15:00 (La1)
Twenty-four days have passed since the group started their training camp began in Las Rozas, during which Santi Denia's team has prepared meticulously to aim for the stars in this upcoming competition. Twenty-two top-level players are ready to give it their all, including experienced players born in 2000 like Abel Ruiz, Sergio Gómez, and Juan Miranda, who belonged to a golden generation of Spanish football in their youth categories, and the youth of Pau Cubarsí and Samu Omorodion, among others. Fermín López and Álex Baena arrive in Paris after being crowned European champions with the senior team in Germany.
With the aim of dreaming big and dreaming gold, the Spanish team wants to take their first step on their way to gold at the Parc des Princes in Paris, the venue for the first and last match of the tournament.
The Olympic Coach, Santi Denia, knows what it's like to participate in the Games as an athlete (Atlanta 1996) and as an assistant coach (Tokyo 2020). Now he faces a new challenge at the helm of a top-level team that wants to go all the way in Paris.
Olympic squad players are the stars of a very special programme on social media.
The opponent in this first group stage match is Uzbekistan, a team against which the Spanish under-21 team played a friendly last October in Tashkent, which ended in a goalless draw, a warning of the difficulty that Santi Denia's team will face when starting their journey at Paris 2024 in Group C, where they will also face the Dominican Republic and Egypt.
For the third time in history, the French capital will host the Olympic Games, which this year coincide with the centenary of the last ones held in the city.