On the evening of the 28th, as the group stage of the Tokyo Olympic men's soccer tournament came to an end, teams from Asia, Africa and Latin America took two seats each in the top eight. Against the backdrop of the elimination of the two strongest teams, Germany and France, Spain became the sole representative of Europe in the last eight with only one win and two draws, despite having six Euro internationals to help them. New Zealand, the worst performing team in the group stage, will next face hosts Japan, who won all their group matches. In front of the hosts, who are in full competition for the gold medal, can they break the practice of Olympic gold medals being monopolized by American teams since 2004?
Asia's best team is gaining momentum
At the U20 World Cup in Poland two years ago, Japan managed to make it to the round of 16, while South Korea made a historic run to the final. The East Asian duo, based on that national youth team, unsurprisingly showed great strength at the Games. Japan won all three of their matches, becoming the second team in nine years since Brazil at the London 2012 Olympics to pick up all nine points in the group stage, while South Korea scored 10 goals without conceding a single one in the last two matches after an unexpected 0-1 defeat against New Zealand in the first round, with a firepower that even surpassed that of the hosts.
With the ambition of Olympic gold medal before the trip, as well as the huge pressure of home games can not afford to lose, known as the strongest Japanese team in history, in the group stage of the three games in the form of a better than a game. The first game of South Africa was nearly forced to draw, the second game of Mexico was nearly tied, the eagerness of the mentality is revealed. But after confirming their qualification, Morihoichi's team recovered their long-lost confidence and ease in the match against France. Although Kubo Jianying scored for the third consecutive game, the team's solid midfield system and patient forward transmission advancement reflected the maturity of the "Blue Samurai". The team's "secondary core", Yasutoshi Don, also shared the pressure of Kubo's goals in time. The hosts, who have the deepest bench in the top eight, have a very good chance of winning against New Zealand in the quarterfinals, but they have to be wary of what Brazil did in the final nine years ago.
Compared to the hosts, who have a balanced power, South Korea has played the star tactic to the extreme. Hwang Yi-suk and Lee Gang-in became the "legs" of the 2018 Asian Games and 2019 U20 World Cup of the Tigers with three goals respectively, and this year the two accounted for 60% of the team's group goals, but also the key to the team's successive victories after a setback in the beginning of the line. Five years ago in Rio, the group stage also with six points to take the top of the South Korean team in the quarter-final accidentally eliminated by Honduras, and this time the two teams group finale narrowly met, South Korea with six goals to beat the opponent, out of all the bad gas. But compared to Japan's quarterfinal opponent New Zealand, the Tigers will face a tough battle against Mexico, which is known for its toughness, flexibility and hardness.
Goal drought plaguing the Bulldogs?
The Spanish national team at the Euros, despite also being plagued by goal-scoring difficulties in the group stage, were fortunate enough to find their shooting boots in the knockout stages, as the Matador Army's forward line rebounded. But La Fuente is obviously not as lucky as Enrique, what they lack the most, is a Morata.
As the presence of the most luxurious lineup in the Top 16, the Spanish national Olympics adhered to the adult team's passing style of play, limiting Egypt and Australia to 3 and 2 shots in the first two games respectively, except for the final game against Argentina, which has become a woeful team, in which they took 12 shots on goal. But the Spaniards' three-game wave of 41 shots was rewarded with just two goals, which is obviously not good news in an Olympic tournament where the style of play is more open and goals are scored more often and more suddenly, considering the goals were scored by the overage midfielder Merino and the more experienced Oyarzaval of the national team. Although the team has brought along Mir, a senior midfielder who performed well in last season's La Liga, the Matildas, who utilize more strikerless formations, have a weak scoring ability that could be their biggest enemy on the way forward.
In fact, Spain is not very good at facing African teams in the Olympics. 21 years ago, in the Olympic final, the Spanish team, which had Xavi, Albelda, Puyol, Capdevila and Tamudo, buried a two-goal lead and lost the gold in a penalty shootout to the Lions when they had the better of the field. Now, facing the Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals, the potential crisis of continuing to attack without success is obvious.
The Spaniards have a hard time scoring goals, but for Brazil, Rosalisson, who scored five goals in three games, is synonymous with scoring goals. However, it is clear that the Samba Army is not good at playing against the wind, the defense end of the old habits of negligence, is the big enemy on the way to defend the title. The first battle against Germany, 3 goals ahead of them first lost penalty kicks, and in 11 to 10 when the opponent tenaciously chased to 2 to 3, and no matter from the strength of the scene, such a performance let the fans slightly speechless; the second battle against the Côte d'Ivoire, Douglas Louis 13 minutes on the red coloring off the field, and more disrupted the deployment of the whole team; even if faced with a long time to lose the right to go out of the Saudi Arabia, the Samba Army actually lost 1 ball. Although this Brazilian team has a lot of talent, but the overall strength and conviction to win the championship, and 5 years ago when the local combat gap is not small. Although the quarter-final opponent Egypt last round of the thrilling line, but if the Brazilians continue to not take their opponents seriously, tuition is also expected.
