- The CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic 2024, held in Venezuela, showcased interesting youth projects that could play their first CONMEBOL Copa América™ this year.
- Diego Gómez, Thiago Almada, Endrick, David Martínez, and Luciano Rodríguez stood out in the Under-23 tournament.
Paraguay was crowned champion of the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic 2024 and will return to the Olympics after 20 years, when they won the Silver Medal in Athens 2004. To achieve this, the contribution from their captain Diego Gómez was essential: in addition to his performance in the midfield, he contributed 5 valuable goals (he was one of the tournament's top scorers).
Gómez's path has been one of exceptional growth: he debuted in Club Libertad's first team in 2022, made his debut for the Paraguayan senior national team four months later, and was transferred to Inter Miami in 2023. He is only 20 years old.
Argentina finished in second place and secured the other ticket to the Paris Olympics. Their standout player was Thiago Almada, who also finished the tournament with 5 goals and provided leadership and experience for the Argentine team.
Playing for Vélez Sarsfield since 2018 and Atlanta United since 2022, Almada has the privilege of having played in a FIFA World Cup (Qatar 2022) and being crowned champion. He is 22 years old.
Brazil finished third in the Final Phase and had Endrick as their star player: the talented forward carried the team with assists and scored three goals during the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic.
In 2023, he became the youngest player to score a goal in the CONMEBOL Libertadores, for Palmeiras, and was also called up to the Brazilian senior national team where he made his debut against Colombia. He has already been sold to Real Madrid, where he will join the team in July. He is 17 years old.
Venezuela was a great host of the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic 2024 and reached the last date of the Final Phase with chances of qualifying for the Olympics but finished in fourth place. Their standout player was midfielder David Martínez, who scored a goal (against Argentina in the final stage).
Martínez made his debut at the age of 16 in the CONMEBOL Libertadores and at 17 in the senior national team. He transferred after the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic from Monagas to Los Angeles Football Club. He is 18 years old.
Uruguay did not reach the final phase of the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic 2024 but Luciano Rodríguez needed only four games to reach 5 goals and become the tournament's top scorer alongside Gómez and Almada.
Emerging from Progreso club, Rodríguez arrived at Liverpool in Uruguay at the end of 2022. In 2023, he was among the top scorers of the team that won the Uruguayan Championship for the first time in its history. He has also been called up to the senior national team. He is 20 years old.
The CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic 2024 showcased starlets that are eager to reach the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™. Will they be in the United States?
