July 28, Tokyo
the Olympics
The men's soccer tournament culminated in the group stage with the announcement of the Top 8. Japan, South Korea, Spain and Brazil each finished first in their respective groups, while Mexico, New Zealand, Egypt and Cote d'Ivoire made it to the last eight by virtue of finishing second in their groups. In the quarterfinals, South Korea will face Mexico, Brazil will take on Egypt, Japan will play New Zealand, and Spain and Côte d'Ivoire will go head-to-head.
Spain, Europe's only seed, advances to the last eight at the Olympics
this year
the Olympics
A total of 16 teams participated in the tournament, including four European teams, including France, Romania, Spain and Germany. After the group stage, only Spain managed to advance to the last eight, while France, Germany and Romania failed to break through the group stage.
In fact, the performance of the four European teams was generally mediocre. In the group stage, all four European teams only achieved one victory, compared with adult teams, lack of dominance. Spain, with its luxurious lineup, drew with Egypt and Argentina in the group stage, and even against the weaker Australia, they only won by one goal.
France's performance was even worse, conceding 11 goals in three group games, with their only victory being a narrow 4-3 win over South Africa. In the other two matches, France lost 1-4 and 0-4 to Mexico and Japan respectively, completely losing the demeanor of a strong international team. Although the Romanian team was regarded as the dark horse of Europe, beating Croatia and England and drawing with France in the qualifying stage to win the Olympic quota, they returned to the level of European underdogs when they came to Tokyo. Apart from a win against Honduras, they lost 0-4 to South Korea and drew 0-0 with New Zealand. Germany's performance in Tokyo was similarly underwhelming, except for a close 3-2 win over Saudi Arabia, and two other matches: a 2-4 defeat to Brazil and a 1-1 draw with Cote d'Ivoire.
How do you get good results when there is no one available to coach?
Over the past 15 years, European soccer has performed strongly in the International Cup, suppressing South America and becoming the dominant world soccer player. However, in the current Olympic Games, European teams are collectively low, the main reason is still the Olympic men's soccer tournament is too chicken.
Olympic men's soccer is not a FIFA-owned tournament, and clubs have the right to refuse players from being called up. France's Mbappe, Kamauwenga both unavailable
the Olympics
. The German team is even more dismal, even the 22-man roster can not get together, only 18 players. German manager Kuntz confided to the media, "In January, I was given a list of 100 people, but after calling one by one, only 18 players were willing to go with the team to Tokyo.
the Olympics
, some players don't want to go on their own and some are not supported by their clubs."
Another reason European teams can't draft talent is that this summer hosted the
European cup (e.g. soccer)
. Many players were forced to give up the Olympics because of the Europa League. They don't want to participate in two international competitions in one summer, it's just too tiring and will affect their form for the next season.
There is an exception to this rule, and that is the Spanish team. Spain called up six age-appropriate internationals: Unai Simon, Erick Garcia, Pau Torres, Pedri, Olmo, and Oyazabal. Barcelona had expressed a desire not to call up Pedri, but was denied by the Spanish
soccer league
Denial. In fact, Pedrie was in Tokyo
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The top is already showing fatigue and is a bit overwhelmed.
Copa America champions Argentina were not spared
In the Olympic men's soccer tournament, in addition to the poor performance of European teams, South American powerhouse Argentina also stopped in the group stage. Keep in mind that Argentina just won the Copa America this summer. But the Argentine national Olympic team, which competed in the Tokyo Olympics, was star-studded, exiting the group stage for the second consecutive Olympics.
Looking back at the Beijing 08 Olympics, Argentina's squad was a luxurious one. The three overage players are Riquelme, Demichelis and Mascherano. The age-appropriate players are equally luxurious, with Zabaleta and Fazio in the backline, the main defenders of La Liga's strongest teams; Real Madrid's Gago and Valencia's new star Banega in the midfield; and Lionel Messi, Aguero, Iguaín, and Di María in the forward line.
Argentina's shift in attitude towards the Olympics actually reflects the awkward position of the Olympic men's soccer team. Argentina's stars, almost all of them play in the five big leagues. In the case of the club does not release, Argentina is difficult to send the strongest team to play in the Olympic Games. It is also for this reason that many traditionally strong teams have met their Waterloo in the Olympics and gone out early.
Olympic men's soccer has its fans, with South Korea as the exception
Globally, the team that supports the Olympic men's soccer tournament the most is none other than South Korea. In every Olympics, South Korea's men's soccer team sends its strongest lineup to play. "The Olympic stage is important for young Korean players, and the fact that they can get exemption from military service if they win a medal is what motivates the players to go forward in the Olympics."
This year's Olympics have been very impressive for South Korea. In the group stage, they only lost 0-1 to Honduras, then beat Romania 4-0 and swept Honduras 6-0. Next up in the quarterfinals, South Korea will face the American Demons, Mexico.
This is the current state of Olympic men's soccer. Traditional powerhouse teams are generally unable to recruit satisfactory candidates, resulting in the Olympic men's soccer tournament becoming a hotbed of blowouts. The Olympics is a feast for sports, but not a high-class temple for soccer. If the problem of player recruitment cannot be solved, the Olympic men's soccer tournament will always be in trouble. It is ironic to think that the No. 1 international sport has been reduced to a chicken rib in the Olympics.
