Why Aren’t Mexico and England in the Olympics?

The 2024 Olympic women’s soccer tournament kicks off July 25 and runs through August 10. Only twelve nations will compete–compared to the 32 at the last Women’s World Cup–forming three groups for the Group Stage of the competition. The teams in Group A are France, Colombia, Canada, and New Zealand; Group B is the United States, Zambia, Germany, and Australia; and Group C is Spain, Japan, Nigeria, and Brazil. This is a stacked line-up of teams, but many are wondering, where are Mexico and England? These two top and talented teams that the world often loves to watch will not be at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Here’s why there will be an absence of Mexico and England in the Olympics.

England

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This year, the UEFA Women’s Nations League determined Olympic qualification for UEFA countries, with the top two teams qualifying for the Olympics. France automatically qualified because it is the host nation for this year’s Olympic Games.

The Lionesses played against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scotland in group play. They ended the group stage with four wins and two losses, including one win against the Netherlands. Yet, at the end of the group stage, England were tied with the Netherlands for points. Finally, this led to them losing in goal differential by one goal.

This harsh result for England eliminated them from the Nations League and meant they would not qualify for this year’s Olympics. This was devastating as the coach, Serena Weigman, led the team to great success in the 2022 Women’s Euro and had a long run in the 2023 World Cup.

Mexico

Mexico is another big football nation missing out on the Olympic women’s soccer tournament. CONCACAF was given two spots in the 2024 Olympics, one of which was determined by the 2022 CONCACAF Women’s Championship, which the United States won, and the other was determined by a playoff match between the second and third-place teams of that tournament: Jamaica and Canada. Ultimately, Canada qualified for the game this summer.

After losing all three group-stage matches, Mexico wasn’t in the top three of the 2022 CONCACAF Championship. Since then, the team fired its head coach, Monica Vergara, and director of national teams, Gerardo Torrado. This is due to the team not qualifying for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in 2022. Their new coach, Pedro Lopez, has put the team on a better trajectory, especially since they beat the USWNT in the Women’s Gold Cup.

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Mexico has a promising future as their U-20 team won the CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Championship. Additionally, their ever-expansive program is on the rise, with big endorsements from Nike and growing interest from fans. Although the team seems to be improving, their unfortunate performances back in 2022 determined their fate for the 2024 Olympics. Missing this summer’s tournament is another blow for the team not qualifying for the 2019 or 2023 World Cups or the 2020 Olympics.

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