We
enjoyed some exciting matches from the women's tournament on Wednesday, and it
got us excited for the beginning of the men's tournament. The men kicked off
their tournament on Thursday with 8 action packed games. The women's tournament
started off with very few surprises but on the men's side it was the opposite.
A couple underdogs put up remarkable performances that have us second-guessing
all the pre-tournament predictions. Here are some of the highlights from the opening
day of the men's tournament.....
JAPAN
FEARS NO OPPONENT
Before
the tournament started Spain was instantly one of the favorites and for good
reason. The Spaniards have won the past two European championships and also the
2010 World Cup. Their opening match against Japan was not expected to be a
blowout in their favor but they were still expected to win without strong
resistance. The Olympics only allows each nation to bring 3 players over the
age of 23 which means quite a few superstars from Spain would not be able to
play. Regardless of that fact, Spain still has one of the most talented group
of youth players in the world and the likes of Juan Mata and Jordi Alba were
brought on the trip. With that being said Spain was named the tournament favorite,
well someone forgot to tell Japan that. The Japanese strategy was simple yet
effective, crowd the middle of the field, deny the Spanish midfielders the
space to pass around the midfield and hold possession, and catch Spain on the
counter attack with their lone striker and two attacking midfielders. Japan
struck first off a corner kick goal by Yuki Otsu and never looked back. A
combination of tireless pressure from Japan, mental errors from Spain, and a
red card to Inigo Martinez led to complete domination by the Japanese. If it
wasn't for great goalkeeping by David De Gea, Spain would have probably lost by
about 4 goals. Maybe this was just one bad performance by Spain but I don't
think Japan's performance was a fluke. They are well organized and mentally
prepared to take on any opponent. I'm excited to see how they play the rest of
the tournament.
GREAT
BRITAIN DISAPPOINTS THE HOME CROWD
Hosting
a major tournament comes with a lot of pressure especially when your home fans
expect success all the time. For Great Britain there is a sense of urgency to
win this tournament in front of the home fans. What was suppose to be a fairly
simple opening match against Senegal ended up being something of a nightmare
for the British. Even though they scored first and held the lead late into the
match, you could just feel disaster coming. Senegal had quite a few
opportunities on goal and finally capitalized with a goal by Moussa Konate in
the 82nd minute to equalize the match. The game would end 1-1, a result that
was a huge disappointment to the home crowd. As much as British players and
fans would like to blame the officials for not calling some fouls on Senegal,
they can't argue that the performance of their team was way below their
standards. It might be too early to panic but an early exit from the tournament
would be a huge blow to the morale of the host nation/territory.
NOBODY
IS SAFE FROM THE UNDERDOGS, INCLUDING BRAZIL
If
there was one game that was expected to be an easy win for the favorite it was
Brazil vs. Egypt. The Brazilians led by their young superstar Neymar were
suppose to breeze by the Egyptians. Instead, it turned out to be an evenly
matched game. The 3-2 victory by Brazil was not very impressive and they did
not look like tournament favorites. Egypt gave them all they could handle and
played to win. Brazilian fans will hope this was just a case of their young
boys getting over some opening day nerves. Key word is "HOPE", but
with a player like Neymar on your side, you can't blame them for feeling
invincible.
If
there is one thing we can conclude from day 1 of the men's tournament it's that
the underdog teams refuse to lay down against the favorites. Even first time
Olympic participants Gabon forced a draw with Switzerland after conceding a
goal in the first couple minutes. I hope all the favorites took notice and are
prepared for a hard earned gold medal. If not, they could be making an early
exit from London.
Thank
for reading. Don't forget to follow Abdi and I on twitter @EJPOnTheBeat
@AGuleed
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