Casual fans tuning in for Olympic soccer might be wondering why some of the stars who were present for big tournaments this summer, like Copa America or Euro 2024 aren’t present in France.
Fan confusion has certainly peaked watching group stage Olympic matches only to find many of the world’s stars were not present: Kylian Mbappé for France, Lionel Messi for Argentina, young Spanish breakout star Lamine Yamal, or even the USMNT’s Christian Pulisic.
So why? Why wouldn’t those global stars or American household names be present at the Olympic Games? The explanation is in how the football tournament has been organized for the past few decades.
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