Football at the Summer Olympics

Football was not included in the program at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, as international football was in its infancy at the time. However, sources claim that an unofficial football tournament was organized during the first competition, in which an Athens XI lost to a team representing Smyrna (Izmir), then part of the Ottoman Empire.[1] According to a source, this is an error which has been perpetuated in multiple texts.[2]

Tournaments were played at the 1900 and 1904 games and the Intercalated Games of 1906, but these were contested by various clubs and scratch teams. Although the IOC considers the 1900 and 1904 tournaments to be official Olympic events, they are not recognized by FIFA, and neither recognizes the Intercalated Games today. In 1906 teams from Great Britain, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and France withdrew from an unofficial competition and left Denmark, Smyrna (one Armenian, two Frenchmen and eight Britons), Athens and Thessaloniki to compete. Denmark won the final against Athens 9–0.

In the London Games of 1908 a proper international tournament was organized by the Football Association, featuring just six teams. The number of teams rose to eleven in 1912, when the competition was organized by the Swedish Football Association. Many of these early matches were unbalanced, as evidenced by high scoring games; two players, Sophus Nielsen in 1908 and Gottfried Fuchs in 1912, each scored ten goals in a single match. All players were amateurs, in accordance with the Olympic spirit, which meant that some countries could not send their full international team. The National Olympic Committee for Great Britain and Ireland asked the Football Association to send an English national amateur team. Some of the English members played with professional clubs, most notably Derby County's Ivan Sharpe, Bradford City F.C. Harold Walden and Chelsea's Vivian Woodward. England won the first two official tournaments convincingly, beating Denmark both times.

The Uruguay national football team that won the 1928 Olympic tournament

During the 1920 final, the Czechoslovakia national football team walked from the field of play in order to raise awareness of their displeasure regarding the refereeing of John Lewis and the militarised mood within the stadium in Antwerp. In the 1924 and 1928 Olympic games, the first South American teams entered the competition: Uruguay and Argentina. Uruguay won both Olympics and FIFA became conscious that the Olympic movement was not only hindering the ability of nations to participate on an equal footing but, given that the Olympics only permitted amateurs to participate, did not represent the true strength of the international game.

Following Henri Delaunay's proposal in 1929 to initiate a professional World Championship of Football, the sport was dropped from the 1932 Los Angeles Games by FIFA in an attempt to promote the new tournament. Football returned to controversy at the 1936 Berlin Games. The German organisers were intent on the return of the game to the Olympic movement since it guaranteed income into the organisation's coffers. The Italian team intimidated a referee. Peru scored a contested victory over Austria in overtime, with a fan invasion of the field at the very end. The Austrian team asked for the result to be annulled, and the game repeated. FIFA agreed, but the Peruvian team refused and left the Olympics.[3][4]

As professionalism spread around the world, the gap in quality between the World Cup and the Olympics widened. The countries that benefited most were the Soviet Bloc countries of Eastern Europe, where top athletes were state-sponsored while retaining their status as amateurs. As a result, young Western amateurs had to face seasoned and veteran Soviet Bloc teams, which put them at a significant disadvantage. All Olympic football tournaments from 1948 to 1992 were dominated by the Soviet Union and its satellites.[5] Between 1948 and 1980, 23 out of 28 Olympic medals were won by Eastern Europe, with only Sweden (gold in 1948 and bronze in 1952), Denmark (bronze in 1948 and silver in 1960) and Japan (bronze in 1968) breaking their dominance.

For the 1984 Los Angeles Games, the IOC decided to admit professional players. FIFA still did not want the Olympics to rival the World Cup, so a compromise was struck that allowed teams from countries outside of UEFA and CONMEBOL to field their strongest sides, while restricting UEFA and CONMEBOL (the strongest confederations whose teams won every single World Cup title) countries to players who had not played in a World Cup.

Since 1992 male competitors have been required to be under 23 years old; since 1996, three over-23-year-old players have been allowed per squad.[lower-alpha 1] African countries have taken particular advantage of this, with Nigeria and Cameroon winning in 1996 and 2000 respectively.

Because of the unusual format, several of the historically strongest men's national teams have unimpressive Olympic records. Uruguay won the tournament in their first two attempts, in 1924 and 1928, their only appearances before they qualified for the 2012 edition, after an 84-year absence. Argentina won silver twice (1928 and 1996) before the 2004 tournament, but its appearance in Athens, in which it won the first gold medal (the second was won in Beijing in 2008), was only their seventh overall (the eighth has been in 2016). Brazil's silver medals in the 1984, 1988 and 2012 editions were the best they had achieved until 2016's gold, and since professional athletes were allowed to compete, they failed to qualify in 1992 and 2004. Italy has only won the Olympic title once, in 1936, although it has also won two bronzes, and has the highest number of appearances in the tournament, at 15, with their last qualify in 2008. France has won the Olympic title only once (in 1984) and has failed to qualify since 1996. Germany's best result (before 2016 edition) was a single bronze medal, in 1988 (as West Germany), and the reunified team did not make an Olympic appearance until 2016, where they won silver. Spain has won the gold medal only once, in 1992. It has also won 2 silver medals (in 1920 and 2000) but has failed to qualify several times.

The IOC approved the addition of women's association football as a permanent Olympic event in September 1993, setting an eight-team tournament for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.[7] The 1996 tournament, which came shortly after the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup was organized in 1991,[8] set a record for the largest crowd to see a women's sports event, at 76,481 during the United States–China final.[9] The women's tournament uses the senior national teams with no age restrictions, unlike the men's tournament. Therefore, the value of the women's tournament is the same as with the Women's World Cup.

Numbers refer to the final placing of each team at the respective Games.

UEFA
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Austria	–	–		–	6	–	–	–	2	=11	=5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
Belarus	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	–	1
Belgium	3	–		–	–	1	15	=5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	–	5
Bulgaria	–	–		–	–	–	10	–	–	–	=17	3	5	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5
Czech Republic	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	1
Czechoslovakia	–	–		–	–	9	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	9	–	–	1	–	–	Split into Slovakia and Czech Republic								5
Denmark	–	–		2	2	10	–	–	–	3	=5	–	2	–	–	6	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	9
East Germany[22]	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	3	1	2	–	–	Merged with West Germany								4
Estonia	–	–		–	–	–	=17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Finland	–	–		–	4	–	–	–	=9	–	=14	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
France	2	–		5	–	4	5	=9	–	=5	=17	–	9	–	7	–	5	–	1	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	Q	13
Germany[23]	–	–		–	7	–	–	=5	=6	–	4	=9	–	–	–	5	–	–	5	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	Q	10
Great Britain	1	–		1	1	11	–	–	=6	4	=17	=5	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	10
Greece	–	–		–	–	13	–	–	–	–	=17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	3
Hungary	–	–		–	5	–	13	–	=9	–	1	–	3	1	1	2	–	–	–	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	9
Ireland	–	–		–	–	–	7	–	–	=17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
Israel	Competed with Asia (qualified 2 times)																	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
Italy	–	–		–	8	5	6	3	1	=5	=9	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	4	4	5	12	5	3	5	–	–	–	15
Latvia	–	–		–	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Lithuania	–	–		–	–	–	=17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Luxembourg	–	–		–	–	12	11	=9	=9	=9	=9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6
Netherlands	–	–		3	3	3	4	=9	–	=9	=17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	–	–	–	8
Norway	–	–		–	9	7	–	–	3	–	=14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5
Poland	–	–		–	–	–	=17	–	4	–	=9	–	10	–	–	1	2	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7
Portugal	–	–		–	–	–	–	=5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	14	–	–	6	–	4
Romania	–	–		–	–	–	14	–	–	–	=17	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	Q	4
Russia	–	–		–	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Serbia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	–	–	1
Serbia and Montenegro	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16	Split into 2 nations				1
Slovakia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	–	–	–	1
Soviet Union	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	=9	1	–	–	–	3	3	3	–	1	–	Split into 15 nations							6
Spain	–	–		–	–	2	=17	=5	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	12	10	–	–	1	6	2	–	–	14	–	Q	11
Sweden	–	–		4	11	6	3	–	=9	1	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	6	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	10
Switzerland	–	–		–	–	–	2	=9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	3
Turkey	–	–		–	–	–	=17	=9	=9	=5	=5	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6
Yugoslavia	–	–		–	–	9	=17	=9	–	2	2	2	1	6	–	–	–	4	3	10	–	Split into 7 nations							11
CONMEBOL
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Argentina	–	–		–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	7	10	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	2	–	1	1	–	11	Q	9
Brazil	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	=5	–	6	9	13	13	4	–	2	2	–	3	7	–	3	2	1	Q	14
Chile	–	–		–	–	–	–	17	–	–	=17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	–	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	4
Colombia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	11	–	11	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	5
Paraguay	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	2
Peru	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	11	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
Uruguay	–	–		–	–	–	1	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	–	3
Venezuela	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
CONCACAF
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Canada	–	1		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		3
Costa Rica	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16	13	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	–		3
Cuba	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	7	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
El Salvador	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
Guatemala	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	10	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
Honduras	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	16	7	4		4
Mexico	–	–		–	–	–	–	=9	–	=11	–	–	–	11	4	7	9	–	–	–	10	7	–	=10	–	1	9		11
Netherlands Antilles	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	=14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	Split into 2 n.			1
United States	–	2[24]	3	–	–	–	12	=9	=9	=11	=17	=5	–	–	–	14	–	–	9	12	9	10	4	–	9	–	–		14
CAF
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Algeria	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	2
Cameroon	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	–	–	1	–	8	–	–	–	3
Egypt	–	–		–	–	8	8	4	=9	=11	=9	–	12	4	–	–	–	–	8	–	12	–	–	–	–	8	–	Q	12
Ivory Coast	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	Q	2
Gabon	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	–	1
Ghana	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	12	16	–	–	–	–	3	8	–	9	–	–	–	–	6
Guinea	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Mali	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	1
Morocco	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	8	–	–	12	–	15	–	16	=10	–	11	–	–	7
Nigeria	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	–	13	–	15	–	1	8	–	2	–	3	–	7
Senegal	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	1
South Africa	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	–	–	13	Q	3
Sudan	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Tunisia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	14	–	12	–	–	–	–	4
Zambia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
AFC
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Afghanistan	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	=17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Australia	Competed with Oceania (qualified 6 times)																								11	–	–	Q	2
China	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	–	2
Chinese Taipei	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	=9	=11	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
India	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	=11	=17	4	13	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
Indonesia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	=5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Iran	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	12	7	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
Iraq	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	14	9	–	–	–	4	–	–	12	–	5
Israel	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	6	–	Competed with Europe										2
Japan	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	=6	–	–	=9	–	8	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	6	13	15	4	10	Q	11
Kuwait	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	16	–	12	–	–	–	–	–	3
Malaysia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Myanmar	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
North Korea	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Qatar	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
Saudi Arabia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	Q	3
South Korea	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	=5	–	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	11	11	11	9	6	10	3	5	Q	11
Syria	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Thailand	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	=9	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
United Arab Emirates	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	1
OFC
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Australia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	=5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	4	13	15	7	AFC (qualified 2 times)				6
Fiji	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16	–	1
New Zealand	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	16	–	Q	3
Total nations	3	2		5	11	14	22	17	16	18	25	11	16	14	16	16	13	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16

Edition	Year	Hosts	Gold medal match			Bronze medal match
			Gold medalists	Score	Silver medalists	Bronze medalists	Score	Fourth place
	1896	Athens	No football tournament
1	1900 Details	Paris	Great Britain (Upton Park F.C.)	[25]	France (Club Français)	Belgium (ULB)	[25]	Three teams entered
2	1904 Details	St. Louis	Canada (Galt F.C.)	[26]	United States (Christian Bro. College)	United States (St. Rose Parish)	[26]	Three teams entered
3	1908 Details	London	Great Britain	2–0	Denmark	Netherlands	2–0	Sweden
4	1912 Details	Stockholm	Great Britain	4–2	Denmark	Netherlands	9–0	Finland
5	1920 Details	Antwerp	Belgium	[27]	Spain	Netherlands	[27]	France
6	1924 Details	Paris	Uruguay	3–0	Switzerland	Sweden	1–1 aet	Netherlands
						Match replay: 3–1
7	1928 Details	Amsterdam	Uruguay	1–1 aet	Argentina	Italy	11–3	Egypt
			Match replay: 2–1
	1932	Los Angeles	No football tournament
8	1936 Details	Berlin	Italy	2–1 aet	Austria	Norway	3–2	Poland
9	1948 Details	London	Sweden	3–1	Yugoslavia	Denmark	5–3	Great Britain
10	1952 Details	Helsinki	Hungary	2–0	Yugoslavia	Sweden	2–0	Germany
11	1956 Details	Melbourne	Soviet Union	1–0	Yugoslavia	Bulgaria	3–0	India
12	1960 Details	Rome	Yugoslavia	3–1	Denmark	Hungary	2–1	Italy
13	1964 Details	Tokyo	Hungary	2–1	Czechoslovakia	Germany[22]	3–1	United Arab Republic
14	1968 Details	Mexico City	Hungary	4–1	Bulgaria	Japan	2–0	Mexico
15	1972 Details	Munich	Poland	2–1	Hungary	East Germany Soviet Union	2–2[28] aet
16	1976 Details	Montreal	East Germany	3–1	Poland	Soviet Union	2–0	Brazil
17	1980 Details	Moscow	Czechoslovakia	1–0	East Germany	Soviet Union	2–0	Yugoslavia
18	1984 Details	Los Angeles	France	2–0	Brazil	Yugoslavia	2–1	Italy
19	1988 Details	Seoul	Soviet Union	2–1 aet	Brazil	West Germany	3–0	Italy
20	1992 Details	Barcelona	Spain	3–2	Poland	Ghana	1–0	Australia
21	1996 Details	Atlanta	Nigeria	3–2	Argentina	Brazil	5–0	Portugal
22	2000 Details	Sydney	Cameroon	2–2 asdet	Spain	Chile	2–0	United States
			5–3 on penalty shoot-out
23	2004 Details	Athens	Argentina	1–0	Paraguay	Italy	1–0	Iraq
24	2008 Details	Beijing	Argentina	1–0	Nigeria	Brazil	3–0	Belgium
25	2012 Details	London	Mexico	2–1	Brazil	South Korea	2–0	Japan
26	2016 Details	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	1–1 aet	Germany	Nigeria	3–2	Honduras
			5–4 on penalty shoot-out
27	2020 Details	Tokyo

* Under-23 tournament since 1992.

• aet – after extra time
• asdet – after sudden death extra time

Below are the 41 nations that have reached at least the semi-final stage in the Summer Olympics finals.

Team	Gold medals	Silver medals	Bronze medals	Fourth place	Medals
Hungary	3 (1952, 1964, 1968)	1 (1972)	1 (1960)		5
Great Britain	3 (1900, 1908, 1912)			1 (1948)	3
Argentina	2 (2004, 2008)	2 (1928, 1996)			4
Soviet Union	2 (1956, 1988)		3 (1972, 1976, 1980)		5
Uruguay	2 (1924, 1928)				2
Brazil	1 (2016)	3 (1984, 1988, 2012)	2 (1996, 2008)	1 (1976)	6
Yugoslavia	1 (1960)	3 (1948, 1952, 1956)	1 (1984)	1 (1980)	5
Poland	1 (1972)	2 (1976, 1992)		1 (1936)	3
Spain	1 (1992)	2 (1920, 2000)			3
East Germany	1 (1976)	1 (1980)	1 (1972)		3
Nigeria	1 (1996)	1 (2008)	1 (2016)		3
France	1 (1984)	1 (1900)		1 (1920)	2
Czechoslovakia	1 (1980)	1 (1964)			2
Italy	1 (1936)		2 (1928, 2004)	3 (1960, 1984, 1988)	3
Sweden	1 (1948)		2 (1924, 1952)	1 (1908)	3
Belgium	1 (1920)		1 (1900)	1 (2008)	2
Mexico	1 (2012)			1 (1968)	1
Canada	1 (1904)				1
Cameroon	1 (2000)				1
Denmark		3 (1908, 1912, 1960)	1 (1948)		4
United States		1 (1904)	1 (1904)	1 (2000)	2
Bulgaria		1 (1968)	1 (1956)		2
Germany		1 (2016)		1 (1952)	1
Switzerland		1 (1924)			1
Austria		1 (1936)			1
Paraguay		1 (2004)			1
Netherlands			3 (1908, 1912, 1920)	1 (1924)	3
Japan			1 (1968)	1 (2012)	1
Norway			1 (1936)		1
United Team of Germany			1 (1964)		1
West Germany			1 (1988)		1
Ghana			1 (1992)		1
Chile			1 (2000)		1
South Korea			1 (2012)		1
Egypt				2 (1928, 1964)	0
Finland				1 (1912)	0
India				1 (1956)	0
Australia				1 (1992)	0
Portugal				1 (1996)	0
Iraq				1 (2004)	0
Honduras				1 (2016)	0

Denmark's Sophus Nielsen and Hungary's Antal Dunai share the record for the most goals scored by a player in the tournament history, both with 13 goals, since the first official football tournament held in London, England, 1908; with Nielsen scoring 11 goals in 1908, and 2 in 1912, and Dunai scoring 6 in 1968 and 7 in 1972. Ferenc Bene holds the record for the most goals scored by a player in a single Olympics tournament, scoring 12 goals in the 1964 edition. Sophus Nielson also shares with Gottfried Fuchs the record of most goals in a single Olympics game, both with 10, with Nielson achieving that in the semi-final match against France in 1908, and Fuchs in the 1 round match against Russia in 1912 Consolation tournament.

Neymar marked the fastest goal in a men's Olympic football match in history at 14 seconds in the semi-final match against Honduras on 17 August 2016.[29]

The all-time top goalscorers with at least 7 goals (since 1908)

Rank	Name	Team	Goals
1	Sophus Nielsen	Denmark	13
	Antal Dunai	Hungary	13
3	Ferenc Bene	Hungary	12
4	Domingo Tarasconi	Argentina	11
	Pedro Petrone	Uruguay	11
6	Gottfried Fuchs	Germany	10
	Kazimierz Deyna	Poland	10
8	Harold Walden	Great Britain	9
	Vilhelm Wolfhagen	Denmark	9
10	Jan Vos	Netherlands	8
	Hector Scarone	Uruguay	8
	Carlos Tevez	Argentina	8
	Bebeto	Brazil	8
	Harald Nielsen	Denmark	8
	Ibrahim Reyadh	Egypt	8
15	John Hansen	Denmark	7
	Anthon Olsen	Denmark	7
	Gunnar Nordahl	Sweden	7
	Annibale Frossi	Italy	7
	Vilhelm Wolfhagen	Denmark	7
	Herbert Carlsson	Sweden	7
	Branko Zebec	Yugoslavia	7
	Milan Galić	Yugoslavia	7
	Kunishige Kamamoto	Japan	7
	Andrzej Juskowiak	Poland	7
	Romario	Brazil	7
	Neymar	Brazil	7

• Countries ranked by total medals won including 1900 and 1904.
• Bronze medals shared in 1972 tournament

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Hungary (HUN)	3	1	1	5
2	Great Britain (GBR)	3	0	0	3
3	Argentina (ARG)	2	2	0	4
4	Soviet Union (URS)	2	0	3	5
5	Uruguay (URU)	2	0	0	2
6	Brazil (BRA)	1	3	2	6
7	Yugoslavia (YUG)	1	3	1	5
8	Poland (POL)	1	2	0	3
	Spain (ESP)	1	2	0	3
10	East Germany (GDR)	1	1	1	3
	Nigeria (NGR)	1	1	1	3
12	Czechoslovakia (TCH)	1	1	0	2
	France (FRA)	1	1	0	2
14	Italy (ITA)	1	0	2	3
	Sweden (SWE)	1	0	2	3
16	Belgium (BEL)	1	0	1	2
17	Cameroon (CMR)	1	0	0	1
	Canada (CAN)	1	0	0	1
	Mexico (MEX)	1	0	0	1
20	Denmark (DEN)	0	3	1	4
21	Bulgaria (BUL)	0	1	1	2
	United States (USA)	0	1	1	2
23	Austria (AUT)	0	1	0	1
	Germany (GER)	0	1	0	1
	Paraguay (PAR)	0	1	0	1
	Switzerland (SUI)	0	1	0	1
27	Netherlands (NED)	0	0	3	3
28	Chile (CHI)	0	0	1	1
	Ghana (GHA)	0	0	1	1
	Japan (JPN)	0	0	1	1
	Norway (NOR)	0	0	1	1
	South Korea (KOR)	0	0	1	1
	United Team of Germany (EUA)	0	0	1	1
	West Germany (FRG)	0	0	1	1
Totals (34 nations)		26	26	27	79