Spain, USWNT and Japan clear favorites to claim gold at Paris Olympic Games

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are nearly upon us, with the women's soccer tournament kicking off on July 25 featuring many of the sport's elite nations and players. Unlike the men's event, consisting of Under-23 teams, the women's field is packed full of senior squads, making it one of the most prestigious and exciting competitions in the game.

The fact that only 12 countries qualify makes it even more intense, as it's incredibly hard to predict just who will get out of the group stages. And there are intriguing storylines worth tracking before a ball has even been kicked, including Emma Hayes' first big summer in charge of the United States women's national team and Marta's final major tournament after 22 years as a Brazil icon.

So, what do you need to know before the action gets underway? INDIVISA has it all in the ultimate women's soccer preview for Paris 2024.

Last Olympics

Plenty has happened in the three years since the Games in Japan, so it's worth a refresher ahead of this summer's edition. In Tokyo, it was Canada that claimed its first gold medal in Olympic women's football by beating Sweden in the cruelest way possible, on penalties. Bev Priestman had not even been in charge of the team for a year when she masterminded that success, one built on a sturdy defense and coming after an historic win over the USWNT in the semifinals - the first over its neighbor since in 2001.

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The U.S. recovered from that defeat and won an incredible bronze medal match against Australia - Carli Lloyd's second goal of the match was the eventual difference in a 4-3 thriller. It wasn't the gold that the team wanted, but it was a good result given Vlatko Andonovski's side had a tough tournament, which kicked off with a sobering 3-0 defeat at the hands of Sweden.

Elsewhere, after guiding the team to the Euro 2017 title and the 2019 Women's World Cup final, now-England boss Sarina Wiegman said farewell to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals when the Dutch lost on penalties to the U.S. The team's star striker, Vivianne Miedema, also broke Christine Sinclair's Olympic record for most goals at a single Games, scoring 10 goals in only four matches.

Miedema wasn't the only player scoring goals for fun in Japan either. This was the summer in which Barbra Banda really announced herself to the world, becoming the first player to score back-to-back hat-tricks in the Olympic women's football tournament before Zambia's group stage exit.

Paris 2024 tournament

Seven of the 12 nations that competed at Tokyo 2020 are back for Paris 2024, with Great Britain, Chile, the Netherlands, China and Sweden replaced by France, Colombia, Germany, Spain and Nigeria.

Group stage action starts on July 25, with matchday two on July 28 and matchday three on July 31. The quarterfinals, made up of the top two teams from each group and the two best third-placed sides, will be played on Aug. 3 and the semifinals will follow on Aug. 6. Finally, the bronze medal match is scheduled for Aug. 9 and the gold medal match will take place on Aug. 10.

Gold medal contenders

Spain is the big favorite to stand on top of the podium. La Roja was incredible last summer to win the World Cup and is likely to only be stronger this time around. That's because the team has welcomed Barcelona star Patri Guijarro back into the fold and Alexia Putellas is in a better place with her fitness, having gone into the World Cup soon after her return from an ACL injury.

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There are positive signs for the USWNT though, the team having taken steps forward since a shock last 16 exit at the hands of Sweden last year. Twila Kilgore did a good job of steadying the ship after Andonovski's departure and Hayes has brought real optimism to the table. If Spain wins it group and the U.S. finishes first or second, it would be on the opposite side of the draw to the world champion and the pair would not cross paths until the final, where anything could happen.

Also looking to make a run is Australia, having reached the semi-finals of a home World Cup last year and the last four at the Olympics in Japan. Head coach Tony Gustavsson does not have Sam Kerr at his disposal due to an ACL injury but the Matildas coped admirably without her last summer and it feels time to consider them a genuine contender for a medal.

Dark horses

If any team at this tournament fancies its chances against Spain, it is Japan. The 2012 Olympic silver medalist beat La Roja 4-0 in the group stages of last year's World Cup and the two nations are pooled together again at the Games, set to meet in the first round on July 25. Even if Japan can repeat the trick though, the questions around its chances of success are more to do with getting over the line in the knockout stages. There is no doubt that this side can beat any team on its day.

Elsewhere, France has been impressing against big nations in Europe lately - beating England in May and Sweden in July - and will hope that a home crowd can help an extremely talented squad finally win a major title, while reigning champion Canada will be happy to go into its title defense without much hype. The 2020 gold medalist crashed out in the group stage of last year's World Cup but is optimistic that improvements have been made in the last 12 months.

Another nation that suffered the same disappointing fate last summer is Brazil. While there are some questions around whether this team is ready to put that behind and compete for a medal, they have a big motivating factor in the fact it will be Marta's final tournament. Could her last dance inspire the Selecao to victory?

Players to watch

This is the last time Marta will grace a major tournament and so fans everywhere will be keen to savor the moment and enjoy her final games on the big stage. Plenty of neutrals are sure to be cheering Brazil on too, so that the iconic forward can go out on a high. Staying with the attackers, France's Kadidiatou Diani is sure to entertain in front of a home crowd and after winning the Golden Boot in the UEFA Women's Champions League last season. This tournament is likely to be more about her providing chances from the wing for Marie-Antoinette Katoto to convert, the France striker among the favorites to be top-scorer.

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U.S. star Sophia Smith will also hope to be in that race - as will Banda, three years on from those back-to-back hat-tricks in Japan. The Zambia sensation made a big move to the NWSL since the last Games and she comes into this tournament in red hot form, having scored 12 goals in as many games in her first half-year with the Orlando Pride.

If you're looking for midfield technicians then you'll want to tune in for Spain's fixtures, where the Barcelona trio of Guijarro, Putellas and Aitana Bonmati are likely to line up together in the middle of the park. The latter pair have three Ballon d'Or wins between them, likely to become four later this year with Bonmati the front-runner, and it's Guijarro's presence in front of the defense that helps them to feel free to get forward and create. Spain's clash with Japan will be especially interesting in midfield, as the latter have some equally incredible footballers, such as Manchester City's Yui Hasegawa and Liverpool's Fuka Nagano.

If defense is your thing, the U.S. boasts the incredibly classy Naomi Girma in the heart of the back line, while Nigeria's Chiamaka Nnadozie and Kailden Sheridan of Canada are among the very best goalkeepers at the tournament.

Youngsters to keep an eye on

A lot of the names above are well-known, so what about some for the future? There is a heap of exciting young talent in the attacking areas of the 12 rosters for this Games in particular and some of them have already put themselves on the map with big tournament performances. Linda Caicedo, for example, was the star of Colombia's run to the Copa America final in 2022 and shone at the 2023 Women's World Cup too, a few months after signing for Real Madrid. Salma Paralluelo of Barcelona, meanwhile, scored in the quarterfinals and semifinals last summer to help Spain become world champions, despite being just 19 years old.

Aoba Fujino was another who starred at that World Cup, albeit perhaps not winning all the plaudits she deserved for some electric performances in Japan's forward line. The 20-year-old is sure to get a big move at club level sooner rather than later, especially if she catches the eye again at this Olympics. Australia's Mary Fowler, 21, got her big move a couple of years ago now and comes into the Games having ended the season strongly with Manchester City. That'll please fans of the Matildas, given Kerr's absence.

Jaedyn Shaw is a name many in the U.S. are very excited about and, after winning the Golden Ball at this year's CONCACAF W Gold Cup, Paris 2024 will be her first chance to showcase her talent on the global stage. And it's worth keeping an eye on Racing Louisville's 18-year-old Milly Clegg, who will be representing underdogs New Zealand in Group A.