The first few rounds of the Olympics 2020 Football is already in the books and we’ve seen several countries who have stepped up their game.
Japan, Spain, Brazil, South Korea, and Ivory Coast stood on top of their respective groups after the first two rounds while Germany, Australia, Honduras, Mexico, and France aren’t far behind.
The football tournament of the Olympics has a format similar to Euro 2020 wherein the 16 participants are only given three group stage games to gather points and then move on to the knockout stages.
From there, one-by-one, the playing field will be reduced in the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and to the finals until we determine who will take home the gold medal.
Defending champions Brazil own one of the highest SBOTOP Olympics 2020 odds to win it anew, but it won’t be as easy as it looks.
Read on below as we review the first few rounds of this tournament to see which countries and players stood out heading into the knockout stages.
Takefusa Kubo leading Japan’s charge
Hajime Moriyasu’s side is firing on all cylinders and they are expected to advance to the knockout stages of this tournament.
Japan have won their first two group stage matches against South Africa and Mexico and a big match against France awaits them next.
Takefusa Kubo has been the main star for the Samurai Blue, scoring two goals in their two wins, while Ritsu Doan and Takumi Minamino have performed up to par as well.
Japan notched a 1-0 victory against South Africa to start and then it was followed up by a 2-1 win against an aggressive Mexico team.
The host nation appears to be one of the underrated teams in this tournament and we wouldn’t be surprised if they’ll go to as far as the semis.
With Japan looking likely to secure the top spot, Mexico and France are going to be left fighting for the second spot.
Oyarzabal, Olmo, and Pedri doing work for Spain
La Roja are also poised to advance to the knockout stages since they are a squad filled with star power.
The Spaniards are being led by Euro 2020 standouts Pedri and Dani Olmo, and the two will be relied upon to generate goals and Olympics 2020 highlights.
After being held to a goalless stalemate by Egypt in their first fixture, Spain bounced back with a 1-0 win against Australia last Sunday as Real Sociedad winger Mikel Oyarzabal scored the late winning goal.
Spain’s next opponents are Argentina in what will be a decisive clash in Group C.
Argentina are fresh from a 1-0 win over Egypt and they have players who can give headaches to Spain, namely RC Lens defender Facundo Medina and Atlanta United forward Esequiel Barco.
Richarlison is the main man for Brazil
Fresh from a solid Copa America campaign, Richarlison quickly made his presence felt here in Olympics 2020.
The Everton forward hit the ground running in Tokyo, becoming the first Premier League player to score a hat-trick at the Olympic Games.
It took just 30 minutes for Richarlison to achieve the record-setting feat. The 24-year-old broke the deadlock against Germany with a solid effort inside seven minutes before doubling the lead 15 minutes later and sealing the treble during the half-hour mark.
His efforts in their 4-2 win against Germany must’ve given a warning to Ivory Coast as the latter held the Selecao to a goalless stalemate last Sunday.
Brazil were at a numbers disadvantage when Douglas Luiz was controversially sent off during the 13th minute, but Ivory Coast couldn’t take advantage as midfielder Eboue Kouassi was given a red in the 79th minute.
Douglas Luiz and Eboue Kouassi won’t be able to play for their countries in their next fixture.
Both nations sit on top of Group D with four points each and their last group stage matches will determine who moves on to the next round.
Manchester United standouts playing well for Ivory Coast
Amad Diallo and Eric Bailly are both making their case as to why they should be given more playing time by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer next season in the Premier League.
The Manchester United teammates have been influential to Ivory Coast’s Olympic hopes alongside AC Milan attacking midfielder Franck Kessie, who scored the nation’s first goal of the tournament.
Ivory Coast won 2-1 against Saudi Arabia before holding the mighty Brazilians and they’ve emerged as a surprise contender in this tournament.
Getting three more points over Germany would seal their spot in the knockout stages, but a draw would help them get the job done regardless.
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