The full schedule for Day 1 of the Paris 2024 Olympics starts at 3:00 pm CET with men’s football matches between Argentina and Morocco, and Uzbekistan and Spain.
The 2024 Olympics kick off today with the first games in football and rugby sevens, two days ahead of the official opening ceremony on Friday.
Anticipation is high as Paris 2024 has set a record by selling 8.6 million tickets, the highest ever.
The opening events feature two football matches at 3:00 pm CET: Argentina vs. Morocco in Saint-Étienne for Group B, and Uzbekistan vs. Spain in Paris for Group C.
Australia vs. Samoa will open the rugby sevens competition in Paris just half an hour later, at 3:30 pm CET.
Here is the full schedule for Wednesday:
**Football, Group Stage:**
– Argentina vs. Morocco (3 pm CET, Saint-Étienne)
– Uzbekistan vs. Spain (3 pm CET, Paris)
– Guinea vs. New Zealand (5 pm CET, Nice)
– Egypt vs. Dominican Republic (5 pm CET, Nantes)
– Iraq vs. Ukraine (7 pm CET, Lyon)
– Japan vs. Paraguay (7 pm CET, Bordeaux)
– France vs. US (9 pm CET, Marseille)
– Mali vs. Israel (9 pm CET, Paris)
**Rugby Sevens, Men’s Pool:**
– Australia vs. Samoa (3:30 pm CET, Paris)
– Argentina vs. Kenya (4 pm CET, Paris)
– France vs. US (4:30 pm CET, Paris)
– Fiji vs. Uruguay (5 pm CET, Paris)
– Ireland vs. South Africa (5:30 pm CET, Paris)
– New Zealand vs. Japan (6 pm CET, Paris)
– Australia vs. Kenya (7 pm CET, Paris)
– Argentina vs. Samoa (7:30 pm CET, Paris)
– France vs. Uruguay (8 pm CET, Paris)
– Fiji vs. US (8:30 pm CET, Paris)
**Football: Dominican Republic Makes Olympic Debut vs Egypt:**
Fans in the Dominican Republic will be watching their men’s football team make its Olympic debut against Egypt, filling the void left by the absence of their powerhouse baseball team. The Dominican team, known as “Sedofútbol,” is bolstered by several players with experience in European leagues. Most of them will represent the country for the first time in France.
“I have a chance to represent my roots, and in the end that is what’s in my blood,” said Oscar Ureña, born in Spain to Dominican parents. “They are very happy and proud of me for going.”
The Dominican team hired Spaniard Ibai Gomez as their coach last February. Gomez, who played for nine professional teams, including Athletic de Bilbao and Alaves, retired in November 2022 and began his coaching career with Santutxu in Spain a year ago.
“The truth is that I was surprised by the call. I played for 14 years, but my career as a coach is just starting,” said Gomez.
**Rugby Sevens: Fiji Seeks Third Consecutive Gold:**
France will start their medal campaign in rugby sevens by taking on the United States in their first Pool B game. Stade de France will be at capacity, with most of the attention on star Antoine Dupont when the French kick off in the third game of a three-day men’s tournament.
On Day 2, the French will face two-time Olympic champion Fiji, the most formidable force in rugby’s condensed sevens format. The US men will face both France and Fiji on Wednesday, giving them a unique view of two title favorites.
“When we get in that environment, besides maybe 14 players, give or take 50 friends and family supporting us, the staff, and the people watching on TV, we know it’s going to be us versus 69,000 people,” US captain Kevon Williams said. “We’re OK with that, we’ve been preparing for that, we’ve honed in and said, ‘It’s just us.’ All we’ll see is the French jersey, so we’ll be ready.”
France, having hosted the Rugby World Cup last year, has yet to win the title despite being finalists three times. However, with the addition of the star from the 15-a-side game, France has peaked in the rugby sevens format in 2024. Dupont helped the French secure a spot in the World Series for the first time in 19 years and capped it with a victory in the series finale in Madrid.