Soccer

Teams and venues
16 men's teams and 12 women's teams will compete at the Olympic soccer tournament. 

At the men's tournament, the latest rules allow for only three players over the age of 23 to be permitted per team. Since Beijing, the governing body of international soccer, FIFA, and clubs have debated making entry even more restrictive.

The women's rosters consist largely of senior national team players.

For the first time since 1972, teams representing Great Britain will compete at a major soccer tournament. They will likely consist only of players from England, as the federations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have decided not to yield players.

Five stadiums around Great Britain have been confirmed as Olympic venues for the men's and women's matches, with additional venues possible.

Wembley Stadium, London
Old Trafford, Manchester
St. James Park, Newcastle
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Hampden Park, Glasgow

Both finals will be held at Wembley. 

Carli Lloyd kicked the U.S. women to the gold medal in Beijing.

Beijing recap
The United States sent men's and women's soccer teams to China. The U.S. men, headlined by current stars Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu and Maurice Edu and bolstered by veteran Brian McBride, finished third in their group with a 1-1-1 record and did not qualify for the elimination round. After opening with a 1-0 defeat of Japan, the Americans showed excellent form in a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands. In that match, a last-gasp free kick eluded goalkeeper Brad Guzan, costing the U.S. certain direct advancement to the knockout stage. When the team lost its final group match to Nigeria, 2-1, it was knocked out of the tournament.

Led by FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi, Argentina defended its Olympic crown, defeating the Nigerians, 1-0, in the final on a 58th-minute goal by Angel di Maria. Brazil, beaten by their fierce South American rivals, 3-0, in a one-sided semifinal matchup, rebounded to take the bronze medal by the same 3-0 score over Belgium.

The U.S. women came to the Olympics as defending champions, but also as definite underdogs to established powers Germany and Brazil, the 2007 Women's World Cup finalists. That status was reinforced after their leading scorer, Abby Wambach, was lost to injury in the final tune-up match before the Games. However, players from all positions on the field stepped up to lead the Americans to a surprise gold medal under first-year coach Pia Sundhage. Seven different players hit the scoresheet and goalkeeper Hope Solo, kicked off the team at the previous year's World Cup after a run-in with then-coach Greg Ryan, came up huge, especially in the final against Brazil, where she made save after spectacular save against stars like Marta and Cristiane. An extra-time goal by Carli Lloyd propelled the Americans to its third title in four tries, 1-0. Germany took the bronze.

Players to watch (Men)*
Theo Walcott, Great Britain
Jozy Altidore, USA
Sergio Asenjo, Spain
Bojan Krkic, Spain
Adem Ljajic, Serbia

Players to watch (Women)*
Marta, Brazil
Hope Solo, USA
Kelly Smith, Great Britain
Abby Wambach, USA
Christine Sinclair, Canada

*Qualification tournaments will be held in 2011 and 2012. Lists are subject to change.