The men’s soccer portion of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics kicked off early in the morning for U.S. today, and the games did not disappoint. Many of us woke up to: goal fests, shock results, and (unfortunately) 0-0 draws.
Here’s a recap of some of the notable Olympic Men’s Soccer first round games.
Goalless Draw Between Egypt and Spain
The first game played in Tokyo was a snoozing stalemate between the Spanish and the Egyptians. Many had their hope ups for this young Spain squad. Some even tipped them as being the favorites to win the gold medal.
Nevertheless, Spain wasn’t able to meet the fan’s hype in the first game as Egypt held them to a 0-0 draw. Although many can argue that some Spanish players like Pedri, Mikel Oyarzabal and Unai Simon were tired from playing the Euros, the Iberian team wasn’t able to show their dominance on the scoresheets.
Perfect Start For the Hosts
The Olympic hosts got off to a strong start after beating South Africa in a narrow 1-0 win.
The Japanese team were the better team throughout the game, as they had multiple chances to go up in the scoresheets. It seemed like it was going to be one of those frustrating nights as the Japanese striker Daichi Hayashi wasn’t able to finish any of his chances.
Thankfully for Hayashi, the Real Madrid youngster, Takefusa Kubo, came to the rescue to score the winning goal in the 71′ minute. Japan will now look to continue playing well against Mexico on Sunday.
No One Saw This Coming
And now one of the biggest shocks that no one (expect Mexican fans) saw coming. The French Olympic team were completely outplayed by Mexico earlier today.
From the start, Mexico looked like the better team from the start as they were relentlessly attacking every time they had possession. The goals didn’t come in until the second half when Alexis Vega headered it home in the 47′ minute.
After the first goal, Mexico kept exploiting the French backline who just weren’t responding goal after goal.
The game finished in a stunning 4-1 win for Mexico. Ironically, the only French goal came from Andre Pierre Gignac, who plays in the Mexican league.
Just Like Rio 2016
The current gold medal holders are off to a great start after edging a tough Germany squad.
Brazil were flying after just 30 minutes as Everton attacker, Richarlison, scored the first hat trick of the tournament. Goals in the 7′, 22′, and 30′ minutes gave Brazil a comfortable 3-0 in the first half.
Despite this, you can never count out the Germans. The 2016 silver medal holders fought back to make it 3-2 with goals in the 57′ and 84′ minutes respectively.
Brazil were on thin ice until super sub Paulinho scored late minute goal so seal the deal for Brazil. Can they repeat their gold glory from Rio?
Other notable results include a narrow Ivory Coast 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia and shock wins from New Zealand and Australia over South Korea and Argentina respectively.
We can only hope for more exciting games (and shocks) on Sunday for the Men’s Soccer round 2.
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