Women’s football: Three more spots at Paris 2024 to be decided

As we edge closer to the summer, and the start of the 2024 Olympic Games, more women’s football spots are being secured by competing nations.

New Zealand booked their place in Paris earlier this month, followed by Spain last week with their progression to the UEFA Nations League final.

The pair joins France, already qualified as tournament hosts, along with the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Colombia as nations confirmed to be participating this summer.

Five berths are still yet to be decided, but that will change this week with three decisive games determining the fate of three more countries.

Ahead of what promises to be a crucial week in Olympic qualifying, below are the key things to know.

UEFA Nations League Finals

The aforementioned Spain confirmed their place at Paris 2024 with a 3-0 victory over the Netherlands in the semi-final of the UEFA Nations League, courtesy of goals from Jenni Hermoso, Aitana Bonmati, and Ona Batlle. 

Elsewhere, France progressed to the final of the UWNL with a win over Germany, despite a late Giulia Gwinn goal halving the deficit created by strikes from Kadidiatou Diani and Sakina Karchaoui. 

They will now meet in the final, to be held on Wednesday 28 February, 19:00 CET kick-off.

The two finalists of the competition were guaranteed to secure a berth at the Games - however, given France have already done so as hosts, it means the final spot will be decided in the third-placed play-off between the Netherlands and Germany. 

Both nations have varying history with the Olympic Games. The Dutch side attended their first-ever Games at Tokyo 2020, where they reached the quarter-finals of the tournament. 

Germany, on the other hand, have bronze medals from 2000, 2004, 2008, before failing to qualify in 2012. They made their return in 2016, when they reached the top of the podium to take home gold. After missing out on 2020, the European giants will be determined to make a return once more. 

The game will be available to watch in the Netherlands on NPO 3 or ESPN 1, while ZDF will air it in Germany on 28 February, kicking off at 20:45 CET. 

Alternatively, the final will be shown live on TVE La 1 in Spain, and W9 in France.

AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament

The next two spots up for grabs will be settled among teams participating in the AFC Olympic Qualifying tournament.

After two rounds of group stages, it comes down to just four teams: Australia, Uzbekistan, Japan, and Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Their fate will be decided across a two-legged tie, the second of which will unfold on Wednesday 29 February.

Australia, who achieved fourth at Tokyo 2020, are in cruise control of their tie after putting three goals past Uzbekistan in the first leg. Michelle Heyman’s 74th-minute strike prompted the Aussies to get a foothold of the clash, with Mary Fowler and Caitlin Foord adding late goals.

The second tie between North Korea and Japan is seemingly more tense heading into the second leg, with things level at 0-0 ahead of Wednesday’s game.

The former have not participated in the Games since 2012, when they reached the group stages, while the latter have not competitively qualified since the London Games too, however they did participate in Tokyo 2020 as hosts, reaching the quarter-finals.

Australia’s second-leg game against Uzbekistan will be shown live on 10 and Paramount+ Down Under, while international fans can stream it in YouTube.

YouTube will also host a stream for Japan v North Korea, but Japanese supporters can watch it in their homeland on NHK BS1 or DAZN.

The final two nations will be decided in April, when the CAF Olympic Qualifying concludes.