List of overage players in Olympic football
Since the 1992 tournament, male squads have been required to consist of players under 23 years old; since the 1996 tournament, a maximum of three players over the age of 23 have been allowed per squad.
This is a list of all-time overage players (also known as wild card players in some countries) in Olympic football since the 1996 tournament.
Overage players rules in Olympic football have influenced other competitions like Asian Games football, Pan American Games football, and African Games football.
Africa (CAF)
Algeria
Overage players of Algeria national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abdelghani Demmou (DF) | Sofiane Bendebka (MF) | Baghdad Bounedjah (FW) |
Cameroon
Overage players of Cameroon national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serge Mimpo (DF) | Patrick M'Boma (FW) | did not select | |
| Antonio Ghomsi (DF) | Gustave Bebbe (FW) | did not select |
Egypt
Overage players of Egypt national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahmed Fathi (DF) | Mohamed Aboutrika (MF) | Emad Moteab (FW) | |
| Mohamed El Shenawy (GK) | Ahmed Hegazi (DF) | Mahmoud Hamdy (DF) |
Gabon
Overage players of Gabon national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Didier Ovono (GK) | Bruno Ecuele Manga (DF) | did not select |
Ghana
Overage players of Ghana national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Addo (DF) | did not select | ||
| Baffour Gyan (FW) | did not select | ||
Ivory Coast
Overage players of Ivory Coast national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| did not select | |||
| Eric Bailly (DF) | Franck Kessié (MF) | Max Gradel (FW) | |
Mali
Overage players of Mali national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fousseiny Tangara (GK) | did not select | ||
Morocco
Overage players of Morocco national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Houssaine Ouchla (DF) | Adel Chbouki (MF) | Salaheddine Bassir (FW) | |
| Nadir Lamyaghri (GK) | Otmane El Assas (MF) | Bouchaib El Moubarki (FW) | |
| Houssine Kharja (MF) | Nordin Amrabat (FW) | did not select |
Nigeria
Overage players of Nigeria national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uche Okechukwu (DF) | Emmanuel Amunike (MF) | Daniel Amokachi (FW) | |
| Godwin Okpara (DF) | Garba Lawal (MF) | did not select | |
| Peter Odemwingie (FW) | did not select | ||
| Daniel Akpeyi (GK) | Mikel John Obi (MF) | did not select | |
Senegal
Overage players of Senegal national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Papa Gueye (DF) | Mohamed Diamé (MF) | did not select |
South Africa
Overage players of
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Baloyi (GK) | Dumisa Ngobe (MF) | did not select | |
| Itumeleng Khune (GK) | Eric Mathoho (DF) | did not select | |
| Ronwen Williams (GK) | did not select | ||
Tunisia
Overage players of Tunisia national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chokri El Ouaer (GK) | did not select | ||
| Khaled Fadhel (GK) | José Clayton (DF) | Mohamed Jedidi (MF) | |
Asia (AFC)
Australia
Overage players of Australia men's national under-23 soccer team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Horvat (MF) | Aurelio Vidmar (FW) | did not select | |
| Stan Lazaridis (MF) | Josip Skoko (MF) | Mark Viduka (FW) | |
DF )
|
Tim Cahill (MF) | John Aloisi (FW) | |
DF )
|
David Carney (MF) | Archie Thompson (FW) | |
Mitchell Duke (FW )
|
did not select | ||
China
Overage players of China national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Li Weifeng (DF) | Zheng Zhi (MF) | Han Peng (FW) |
Iraq
Overage players of Iraq national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haidar Abdul-Jabar (DF) | Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail (MF) | Razzaq Farhan (FW) | |
| Ahmed Ibrahim (DF) | Saad Abdul-Amir (MF) | Hammadi Ahmed (FW) |
Japan
Overage players of Japan national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| did not select | |||
| Seigo Narazaki (GK) | Ryuzo Morioka (DF) | Atsuhiro Miura (MF) | |
| Hitoshi Sogahata (GK) | Shinji Ono (MF) | did not select | |
| did not select | |||
| Maya Yoshida (DF) | Yūhei Tokunaga (DF) | did not select | |
| Hiroki Fujiharu (DF) | Tsukasa Shiotani (DF) | Shinzo Koroki (FW) | |
| Maya Yoshida (DF) | Hiroki Sakai (DF) | Wataru Endo (MF )
| |
Kuwait
Overage players of Kuwait national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamal Mubarak (DF) | Abdullah Wabran (DF) | Esam Sakeen (MF) |
Saudi Arabia
Overage players of Saudi Arabia national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi (DF) | Fuad Anwar (MF) | Hamzah Idris Falatah (FW) | |
| Yasser Al-Shahrani (DF) | Salman Al-Faraj (MF) | Salem Al-Dawsari (MF) |
South Korea
Overage players of South Korea national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Lim-saeng (DF) Lee Kyung-chun[a](DF) |
Ha Seok-ju (MF) | Hwang Sun-hong (FW) | |
| Kang Chul (DF) | Kim Sang-sik (DF) | Kim Do-hoon (FW) | |
| Yoo Sang-chul (MF) | Chung Kyung-ho (FW) | did not select | |
| Kim Dong-jin (DF) | Kim Jung-woo (MF) | did not select | |
| Jung Sung-ryong (GK) | Kim Chang-soo (DF) | Park Chu-young (FW) | |
| Jang Hyun-soo (DF) | Suk Hyun-jun (FW) | Son Heung-min (FW) | |
| Park Ji-soo (DF) | Kwon Chang-hoon (MF) | Hwang Ui-jo (FW) |
- ^ Lee Lim-saeng was injured in the second match. Reserve player Lee Kyung-chun appeared in the third match.
United Arab Emirates
Overage players of United Arab Emirates national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ali Khasif (GK) | Ismail Al Hammadi (MF) | Ismail Matar (FW) |
Europe (UEFA)
Belarus
Overage players of Belarus national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renan Bressan (MF) | Stanislaw Drahun (MF) | Sergei Kornilenko (FW) |
Belgium
Overage players of Belgium national under-21 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sepp De Roover (DF) | Maarten Martens (MF) | did not select |
Czech Republic
Overage players of Czech Republic national under-21 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| did not select | |||
Denmark
Overage players of Denmark national under-21 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edigeison Gomes (DF) | Lasse Vibe (FW) | Emil Larsen (FW) |
France
Overage players of France Olympic football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| did not select | |||
| Téji Savanier (MF) | Florian Thauvin (FW) | André-Pierre Gignac (FW) | |
Great Britain
Overage players of Great Britain Olympic football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Micah Richards (DF)
|
 Ryan Giggs (MF)
|
Craig Bellamy (FW)
|
Greece
Overage players of Greece national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Konstantinos Nebegleras (MF) | Miltiadis Sapanis (MF) | Ieroklis Stoltidis (MF) |
Germany
Overage players of Germany Olympic football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sven Bender (MF) | Lars Bender (MF) | Nils Petersen (FW) | |
| Maximilian Arnold (MF) | Max Kruse (FW) | did not select |
Hungary
Overage players of Hungary national under-21 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| did not select | |||
Italy
Overage players of Italy national under-21 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gianluca Pagliuca (GK) | Massimo Crippa (MF) | Marco Branca (FW) | |
| did not select | |||
| Matteo Ferrari (DF) | Andrea Pirlo (MF) | did not select | |
| Tommaso Rocchi (FW) | did not select | ||
Netherlands
Overage players of Netherlands national under-21 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kew Jaliens (DF) | Gerald Sibon (FW) | Roy Makaay (FW) |
Portugal
Overage players of Portugal Olympic football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rui Bento (DF) | Paulo Alves (FW) | Capucho (FW) | |
| Nuno Frechaut (DF) | Fernando Meira (DF) | Luís Boa Morte (FW) | |
MF )
|
MF )
|
Salvador Agra (FW) |
Romania
Overage players of Romania national under-21 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florin Ștefan (DF) | did not select | ||
Serbia
Overage players of Serbia national under-21 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| did not select | |||
| Vladimir Stojković (GK) | Aleksandar Živković (MF) | Miljan Mrdaković (FW) | |
Slovakia
Overage players of Slovakia national under-21 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Lipčák (GK) | Radoslav Kráľ (DF) | Michal Pančík (MF )
|
Spain
Overage players of Spain national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| did not select | |||
| did not select | |||
| Juan Mata (MF) | Javi Martínez (MF) | Adrián López (FW) | |
| Mikel Merino (MF) | Dani Ceballos (MF) | Marco Asensio (FW) | |
Sweden
Overage players of
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Milošević (DF) | MF )
|
MF )
|
Switzerland
Overage players of Switzerland national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diego Benaglio (GK) | Timm Klose (DF) | Xavier Hochstrasser (MF) |
North America, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF)
Costa Rica
Overage players of Costa Rica national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whayne Wilson (FW) | did not select | ||
Honduras
Overage players of Honduras national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| did not select | |||
| Samuel Caballero (DF) | Emil Martínez (MF) | Carlos Pavón (FW) | |
| Maynor Figueroa (DF) | Roger Espinoza (MF) | Jerry Bengtson (FW) | |
| Johnny Palacios (DF) | Romell Quioto (FW) | did not select | |
| Brayan Moya (MF) | Jorge Benguché (FW) | did not select | |
Mexico
Overage players of Mexico national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jorge Campos (GK) | Claudio Suárez (DF) | Luis García (MF) | |
| Israel López (MF) | Antônio Naelson "Sinha" (MF) | Omar Bravo (FW) | |
| José Jesús Corona (GK) | Carlos Salcido (DF) | Oribe Peralta (FW) | |
| Alfredo Talavera (GK) | Jorge Torres Nilo (DF) | Oribe Peralta (FW) | |
| Guillermo Ochoa (GK) | Luis Romo (MF) | Henry Martín (FW) |
United States
Overage players of United States men's national under-23 soccer team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kasey Keller (GK) | Alexi Lalas (DF) | did not select | |
| Brad Friedel (GK) | Jeff Agoos (DF) | Frankie Hejduk (MF) | |
| Brad Guzan (GK) | Michael Parkhurst (DF) | Brian McBride (FW) |
Oceania (OFC)
Fiji
Overage players of Fiji national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simione Tamanisau (GK) | Alvin Singh (DF) | Roy Krishna (FW) |
New Zealand
Overage players of
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Nelsen (DF) | MF )
|
Chris Killen (FW) | |
| Ryan Nelsen (DF) | MF )
|
Shane Smeltz (FW) | |
| Winston Reid (DF) | Michael Boxall (DF) | Chris Wood (FW) |
South America (CONMEBOL)
Argentina
Overage players of Argentina national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| José Chamot (DF) | Roberto Sensini (DF) | Diego Simeone (MF) | |
| Roberto Ayala (DF) | Gabriel Heinze (DF) | Kily González (MF) | |
| Juan Román Riquelme (MF) | Nicolás Pareja (DF) | Javier Mascherano (MF) | |
| Gerónimo Rulli (GK) | Víctor Cuesta (DF) | did not select | |
Jeremías Ledesma (GK )
|
did not select | ||
Brazil
Overage players of Brazil national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aldair (DF) | Rivaldo (MF) | Bebeto (FW) | |
| did not select | |||
| Thiago Silva (DF) | Ronaldinho (MF) | did not select | |
| Thiago Silva (DF) | Marcelo (DF) | Hulk (FW) | |
| Weverton (GK) | Renato Augusto (MF) | Neymar (FW) | |
Aderbar Santos (GK )
|
Diego Carlos (DF) | Dani Alves (DF) | |
Chile
Overage players of Chile Olympic football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson Tapia (GK) | Pedro Reyes (DF) | Iván Zamorano (FW) |
Colombia
Overage players of Colombia national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Tesillo (DF) | Dorlan Pabón (FW) | Teófilo Gutiérrez (FW) |
Paraguay
Overage players of Paraguay national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Gamarra (DF) | Julio César Enciso (MF) | José Cardozo (FW) |
Uruguay
Overage players of Uruguay national under-23 football team
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egidio Arévalo (MF) | Edinson Cavani (FW) | Luis Suárez (FW) |