The opening ceremony for the delayed 2020 Olympic Games will take place on Friday but the Group Stages of the men’s football tournament start tomorrow as the tournament organisers seek to cram 24 matches into three days – Thursday 22 July, Sunday 25 July and Wednesday 28 July. The four quarter finals will then take place on Saturday 31 July, with the semi-finals following on Tuesday 3 August. The losing teams from each semi-final will then compete for the bronze medal on Friday 6 August with the final scheduled for Saturday August 7 at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. So there’s plenty of quality football to ease fans over the transitional period from the highs and lows of Euro 2020 to the start of the Premier League 2021/22 season on 14 August.
Disappointingly, there is no Team GB men’s team on this occasion as the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish FAs remain concerned about losing their Home Nations status established by FIFA. Of the European countries competing in the tournament, Spain are overall favourites to win the gold medal according to WhichBookie with best odds of 21/10 from bookmaker Sporting Index. If you fancy a flutter, Spain are attracting huge interest in the betting market just now with their recent excellent form in Euro2020 a contributing factor.
Brazil will be in hot pursuit, keen to replicate their success in the 2016 Olympics where the team won gold after a thrilling final in which Neymar scored the winning penalty in a 5-4 penalty shoot-out that left Germany as runners-up. Argentina recently beat Brazil 1-0 in the Copa de America final in Rio de Janeiro, and Brazil will be keen to erase the pain of that home defeat in Japan where they are second favourites, with odds of 16/5 from bookie SBK.
Despite defeating Brazil just a couple of weeks ago, Argentina are not fancied for the Olympic gold medal with best odds of 23/2 . In fact, Spain, Brazil, France, Germany and Japan are all scored more highly by the bookies. France are third favourite behind Spain and Brazil, with odds of 36/5 from SBK. Germany are on odds of 10/1 from bet365 and the host nation, Japan, just a smidge behind on 11/1 from Paddy Power. Current World Cup holders, France, have definitely got something to prove, having crashed out in Euro2020 after a shock defeat by Switzerland in the Group of 16 stage. Germany, too, will be keen to expunge their Group of 16 2-0 loss at the hands of long-term rivals, England, and Olympic Gold would be just the ticket. Japan are also fancied but, to be honest, home advantage will be minimal during the tournament as all matches will be played without spectators.
The 16 participating nations have been placed in four groups, with Japan in Group A playing in the first match tomorrow against South Africa. There will be a single round-robin format in the groups and the top two advance to the quarter-finals. The teams are restricted to under-23 players, although three over-age players are permitted in each squad. The tournament will take place across seven venues in six host cities – Tokyo, Kashima, Rifu, Saitama, Sapporo and Yokohama.
Following the draw back in April at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, the four groups are as follows:
Group A: Japan, Mexico, France, South Africa
Group B: Honduras, South Korea, New Zealand, Romania
Group C: Argentina, Australia, Egypt, Spain
Group D: Brazil, Germany, Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia
