The Olympic soccer tournaments are odd for several reasons. The countries not taking part pay them no attention whatsoever. The men’s tournament boasts 16 teams and players that — with three random over-age exceptions — are from the U-23 pool. There are only 12 women’s teams, but they select first-choice rosters with no age limits. Despite the cruel schedule, usually played in mid-summer heat, squads are limited to 18 players. In its quarterfinal game against Spain, Colombia sent an injured player back out during overtime because they had no fit players left on the bench, even though they could still have made one more substitution.
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