In the battle for men's soccer at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 16 teams battled it out on July 22 for the gold medal. Spain, the favorites to win the title, has a team under coach Luis de la Fuente that is full of promising young talent, with 20 of the 22 players having played for teams in La Liga or La Liga 2.
Spain's star-studded Olympic squad includes nimble Getafe winger Marc Cucurelia, Real Sociedad midfield commander Merino, Real Madrid goal-scoring winger Asensio, and stars Unai Simon, Erick Garcia, Pau Torres, Oyazabal, Olmo and Pedri, who have been making a big splash at the Euros. Notably, Pedri was also honored as the best young player of Euro 2020.
In addition to the 20 Spanish players, 10 other Liga MX players are representing other countries - Sanian of France, Kenyoung Kubo of Japan, Gangin Lee of South Korea, Idrissa Dumbia of Côte d'Ivoire, Lainez of Mexico, Diego Carlos of Brazil, Pascanu and Anlatiu of Romania, as well as Ledesma and Neuen Perez of Argentina.
A total of 30 Liga MX players competed at the Olympic Games in Japan this summer in nine of the 16 participating countries, a number that exceeds the number of players from other leagues at the Olympics - 24 players from the German league, 23 from the French league, 16 from the English league and nine.
The 30 La Liga players came from 17 different clubs, including Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona, Cadiz, Celta, Eibar, Espanyol, Granada, Getafe, Huesca, Osasuna, Ponferradina, Real Betis, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Sevilla, Valencia and Villarreal. Of these, Real Sociedad fielded the most players, including Martin Suvimendi, Oyazabal, Merino and Sanian.
The Olympic roster also showcases the strength of Spain's second division. Although 27 of the 30 Spanish players play in the top flight, Puado, Oscar Hill and Pascanu were impressive enough in the Liga B last season to be selected for the Olympic roster.
With so many Liga MX players gathered in the Olympic Stadium, there will be an exciting showdown. For example, when Japan takes on Mexico in the second round of the group stage, fans will witness a showdown between Kenyoung Kubo and Lainez. When Spain take on Argentina in the final round of the group stage, it will be a special moment for Granada fans as Spain's captain, Alejo Vallejo, and Argentina's captain, Neuen Perez, were Granada's center backs last season and will now lead their respective national teams in their quest to make it out of the tournament.
This summer's Olympic soccer tournament will be full of excitement as the 16 teams aim for the gold medal in Yokohama on August 7. 30 players from the Liga MX league will compete in an event where at least one Liga MX player is expected to take home the final trophy.
