Sophia Smith, Aitana Bonmati & 15 players to watch at the 2024 Olympic women's football tournament in Paris

Colombia's performances at last summer's World Cup, at which it reached an historic quarter-final, and this year's CONCACAF W Gold Cup, where it lost to the U.S. in the first knockout round, could not have looked more different. In 2023, the South Americans were exciting and delighted many with their attacking play, so it was a shame that wasn't on show in the team's first major tournament of this year.

However, among the big differences between those two events was the absence of Mayra Ramirez at the Gold Cup. The striker, who signed for Chelsea in January for a bumper fee, was an obvious miss for Colombia in the U.S., and so her presence at the Games should change things for the better.

Ramirez's devastating qualities were evident in an incredible individual display on the final dayas Chelsea won a fifth successive Women's Super League title in May, and Colombia will hope to see performances like that in France, too, as it bids to win a medal.

This will be the first major tournament since the Olympic Games in 2000 at which Canada does not have the legendary Christine Sinclair on its roster. The 41-year-old announced her retirement from international football in December, hanging her boots up as the all-time top goal-scorer in this field. Her 190 strikes, some 60 more than Ronaldo's all-time record in the men's game, seem unlikely to ever be surpassed.

So, going into the 2024 Olympics, how does Canada cope without her presence in attack? In recent years, Sinclair has dropped into a deeper role rather than being the focal point, but there's no debating how significant a role she maintained in her nation's attacking play, not least because she would draw attention from opposing defenders and that could create space for team-mates.

Throughout 2024, it has not been a case of the 2020 Olympic gold medalists replacing Sinclair like-for-like, but of adapting to a new-look attack without her. Within that, Adriana Leon has shone. The Aston Villa forward has scored nine goals for Canada this calendar year and a continuation of that form in France would go a long way in helping her team have another successful Games.

At last summer's World Cup, Kadidiatou Diani had to operate as France's No.9 due to the injury absence of Marie-Antoinette Katoto, the goal-machine she spent so many years providing perfect service for with Paris Saint-Germain. In that role, she scored four goals in five games, but we didn't see the very best of her as Les Bleues lost in the quarter-finals.

Things could be different this time around. Katoto is back and Diani is out wide again, where she can torment full-backs with her agility, skill and positive mindset. She comes into the tournament off the back of an assist-laden season at Lyon, joining the club from PSG last year, and not only will she be hoping to keep that up - Katoto will be keen for her to do so too, so the two can combine to fire the host nation to a medal.

Like at most major tournaments, it's going to be tough for New Zealand - pooled with France, Colombia and Canada - to get out of the group stages at the Olympics. However, the Football Ferns hit a huge milestone last summer by winning a World Cup match for the first time and were only denied a place in the knockout stages on goal difference. That will give the players confidence as another major tournament approaches, there's no doubt.

That close call was built on a rock solid defense, New Zealand conceding just once in three group-stage matches, and keeping it tight at the back will be important again in France, given the opposition. Rebekah Stott is a leader in that back line and, as such, she will be key to ensuring this team is tough to break down.

The 31-year-old has a ton of experience, commands the respect of this team and comes into the Olympics having had a superb season with Melbourne City, too, helping the Australian side become A-League Women Premiers again while also reaching the grand final.

There are not many out there who don’t believe that Aitana Bonmati will hold a second successive Ballon d’Or in just a few months’ time. The diminutive Barcelona midfielder had an exceptional season for her club, helping the women’s team to win a quadruple for the first time, and she looks set to light up another major tournament too, just 12 months on from doing exactly that as Spain became world champions.

Bonmati’s all-round game makes her a delight to watch, her thirst to create for team-mates and break down an opponent matched by a desire to defend and help out on the other side of the ball, and it so often sees her steal the show whenever she takes to the field.

Australia will be without Sam Kerr for this tournament, the Chelsea star having suffered a devastating ACL injury in January, and so it has become increasingly important for all members of the Matildas' attack to step up. Sadly, this team knows all too well about doing that, having had to go through something similar during last summer's World Cup. During that tournament, though the goals were shared around the team, it was Caitlin Foord who really led from the front and helped fill the void left by one of the world's best players.

Foord operated in a few different roles in that home World Cup, showcasing her experience as well as her quality, but it was when she moved out to the left and linked up with fellow Arsenal team-mate Steph Catley, at left-back, that she really shone. If those two can be as brilliant down that flank in France as they were in Australia, then the Matildas will be well in with a medal chance.

Germany has had a tricky past 12 months. After being eliminated in the group stages of last summer's World Cup for the first time, interim boss Horst Hrubesch steered the 2016 gold medalists to a place at this summer's Olympics in February, but there have been some questionable results to go alongside that convincing 2-0 win over the Netherlands that ensured a spot at the Games.

Central to the team's issues has been an inability to keep clean sheets, something highlighted by a recent 3-0 loss to Iceland in particular. The third of those goals came from sloppy play at the back while the first two underlined some recent poor form from Merle Frohms, the Wolfsburg goalkeeper who was truly outstanding when Germany reached the final of the European Championship in 2022.

Frohms is one of the most talented players in her position. Yet, sadly, we've not seen her putting in performances of that ilk as much in the past year. The 29-year-old is far too good for that to go on much longer, though, and if she can rise to the levels she is capable of at the Games, it will massively increase Germany's chances of having a successful tournament.

This feels like a big summer for Sophia Smith. With Alex Morgan left off Emma Hayes' roster, this really marks the changing of the guard at the No.9 position for the U.S., even if it has been happening steadily for a little while. Smith, and the whole of the attack, never really got going at the World Cup last year and there have been some worryingly similar signs lately. However, generally speaking, there has been progress in the 12 months and the 23-year-old will hope to erase recent doubts and make a real impact at the Games.

She's been in flying form for the Portland Thorns this season, scoring 10 times in 14 NWSL matches, and has netted four times in her last five outings for the USWNT, too. If she can carry that into this tournament, Smith will surely be a contender for the Golden Boot.

It was at the last Olympics that the world was really introduced to Barbra Banda. Aged 21, she became the first player to score hat-tricks in back-to-back games at the women's tournament, despite Zambia being huge underdogs and crashing out in the group stages. Yet, she recently told reporters that she believes she can do even more this time around. That's quite a daunting prospect.

In the three years since, Banda has left China's lucrative domestic league for a move to the top-quality NWSL in the U.S., and she's also experienced a World Cup for the first time, helping Zambia debut on that stage last summer. She's an even better player, then, and will be one of the most dangerous forwards in action in France with her mixture of talent and determination.

It’s been a difficult year for Alexia Putellas. The two-time Ballon d’Or winner suffered an ACL injury on the eve of the Euros in 2022 and didn’t return to action until April of last year, with her role in Spain’s World Cup-winning campaign understandably limited as a result. The 2023-24 season was difficult too, with another knee surgery needed before the New Year.

Yet, despite another setback, she was able to remind everyone of her quality in the biggest game of Barca’s season when she netted emphatically in the final minutes of the Champions League final to put the destination of the trophy beyond doubt.

Putellas comes into this Olympics full of motivation to play an especially significant role in a trophy-winning team for the first time since that devastating ACL rupture. That’s a tantalising prospect for any fan of the game, especially a Spanish one.

So many eyes will be on Marta this summer after she revealed that it will be her final year playing international football. The 38-year-old is widely regarded as the greatest player in the history of the women’s game, but she has never won a World Cup or an Olympic title, despite lighting up many editions of each tournament since her Brazil debut in 2002.

Could her last dance produce her finest achievement? This Brazil team has its flaws and certainly isn’t the front-runner to triumph in Paris. However, there will be extra motivation for the Selecao, bidding to send Marta out on a high, and the forward herself still has plenty of magic left in those boots.

Amid all the negatives that could be taken from the USWNT's last-16 exit at the World Cup in Australia, Naomi Girma was a welcome bright light. Midway through just her second season in the NWSL, the center back shone despite the U.S.'s tough tournament, her composure on the ball and when on the back foot equally impressive.

Fast forward 12 months and Girma has only got better and better, easing any fears about a post-Becky Sauerbrunn era. Despite still being just 24 years old, she is already a world-class talent and can further enhance her glowing reputation at the Olympics this summer. Her performances will be important to the USWNT's chances of a medal but, moreover, she's just a player to watch because she's such a joy to watch.

Japan turned plenty of heads at last summer’s World Cup, most notably by beating eventual champions Spain 4-0 in the group stages, and the same can be said for many of the individuals at the heart of that success. Among them was Aoba Fujino, the talented teenager who, now aged 20, is surely set for a big move overseas sooner rather than later.

The young forward is allowed the freedom to express herself in Futoshi Ikeda’s side and she makes the most of it, dazzling defenders with her technical skill and creativity. If Japan are to hit the heights they are capable of - and they’ll likely need to in a very tough group - Fujino will be a central figure.

When it comes to Nigeria, it can be easy to focus on the attacking talent at its disposal, and with Asisat Oshoala, Uchenna Kanu, Ifeoma Onumona and Rasheedat Ajibade on this roster, that's understandable. Yet, the star of the Super Falcons’ run to the last 16 of last year’s World Cup was Chiamaka Nnadozie.

In the group stages, there was no more impressive goalkeeper, the Paris FC star even managing to win plaudits during the 3-2 defeat to Australia that came in between clean sheets against Canada and Ireland. She would keep another in the knockout stage too, against eventual finalists England, though the Lionesses won on penalties after riding their luck a fair bit.

That sturdy defence will be important again if the African nation is to progress beyond the group stage at the Olympics and, when inevitably breached, opponents will have to do something special to beat a goalkeeper with Nnadozie’s talent.

As if Spain was not already the big favourite to win Olympic gold this summer, those chances have been boosted by the return of Patri Guijarro. The Barcelona midfielder was one of the 15 Spain players who, in the aftermath of Euro 2022, decided to declare themselves unavailable for international duty until improvements were made by the federation. While many of those returned before the World Cup last summer, Guijarro stayed away and missed that success.

Ahead of the Olympics, though, she is back and she bolsters a midfield that is already probably the best in the international women’s game. A classy No.6 who dictates play with ease, she can contribute effectively in attack and does her job wonderfully in defence.

Guijarro’s return could see Spain line-up with the same midfield three that Barca used to first conquer Europe, alongside Bonmati and Putellas. Given their chemistry and ability, there is perhaps no better trio in the sport.