The Paris Olympics commenced on the 26th of July with the opening ceremony showcasing the rich cultural charm and history of the country. And while there is some backlash and debates on the ceremony, the soccer’s group stage has kicked off. The men’s grouper stage will be held with four groups with 16 nations in total competing for a ticket to the knockout stage.
Spain Is the First To Advance to the Knockout Stage
To advance to the knockout stages, teams must finish in the top two places in their respective groups. As of July 29th, several group-stage matches have already been played, including the ones with Span in Group C. The Spanish U23 became the first team to advance to the quarterfinals, ahead of all other teams, with back-to-back wins over Uzbekistan (2-1) on the 24th and the Dominican Republic (3-1) on the 27th.
Scoring against the Dominican Republic were Fermín López, Alex Baena, and Miguel Gutiérrez Ortega, while the goals against Uzbekistan were scored by UD Almería defender Marc Púbil and Real Sociedad’s Sergio Gomez. Each of these players has played in the national youth team at various ages and is expected to play an important role for the national team in the near future. With the memory of a glorious victory at the EURO earlier in July still fresh, our expectations are high to see the U23 team bring us another victory at the Olympics.
Related: Paris 2024: IOC Clears Two Boxers To Compete As Women Despite Failed Gender Eligibility Tests
Japan Scores a Spot for Knockout Stage, Following Spain
Along with Spain, Japan also advanced to the knockout stage, leading the group with six points in Group D. The Japanese U23 team, led by the captain, Fujita, consists of players who play in European countries like Belgium and Germany. Though it is a relatively young team with only two players, the aforementioned Fujita and Hosoya, who have experience playing for the national team, major Japanese bookmakers in Japan that provide odds in soccer give the Samurais the fourth favorite to win the tournament, after France, Spain, and Argentina.
The biggest shocker came in Group D’s first match between Japan and Paraguay. Japan scored five goals against Paraguay without allowing them a single goal. In this match, Santo, who plays for Sparta Rotterdam, as well as Fujio, who plays for FC Machida, each scored two goals, with an additional goal by Yamamoto of Sint-Truiden VV.
Japan hit another victory with the following game against Mali on July 27th, leading them to qualify themselves for the knockout stages, and this time Yamamoto followed up the previous game by scoring again to snatch an important point.
In men’s Olympic soccer, the group stage will continue through July 30, with the knockout stage starting on August 2. Matches will be played at seven stadiums in seven cities, including Marseille and Bordeaux as well as Paris, and will span almost the entire Olympic Games, until the final at Parc des Princes on August 9th.
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