ANational Olympic Committee (NOC) may enter up to one men's team with 12 players and up to one women's team with 12 players. The reigning world champions and the host country qualify automatically, as do the winners of the five continental championships, plus the Americas runner-up and four additional berths from Europe in the men's competition, and the second and third place from the Americas tournament plus three additional squads from Europe in the women's competition.
Twelve teams are split into two preliminary round groups of six teams each.
The top four teams from both groups qualify for the knockout stage.
Fifth-placed teams from both groups compete for 9th place in an additional match.
Sixth-placed teams from both groups compete for 11th place in an additional match.
In the quarterfinals, the matchups are as follows: A1 vs. B4, A2 vs. B3, A3 vs. B2, and A4 vs. B1.
From the eliminated teams at the quarterfinals, the loser from A1 vs. B4 competes against the loser from A2 vs. B3 for 5th place in an additional match. The remaining two loser teams compete for 6th place in an additional match.
The winning teams from the quarterfinals meet in the semifinals as follows: A1/B4 vs. A3/B2 and A2/B3 vs. A4/B1.
The winning teams from the semifinals contest the gold medal. The losing teams contest the bronze.
Tie-breaking criteria:
Head to head results
Goal average (not the goal difference) between the tied teams
Goal average of the tied teams for all teams in its group
Angola
United States
Canada
China
Italy
Lithuania
France
Spain
Russia
New Zealand
FR Yugoslavia –World champions
Australia – Olympic hosts
Senegal
Cuba
Brazil
South Korea
Poland
Slovakia
