The world’s biggest sporting event, Summer Olympics are here again, after a hiatus one year due to the Coronavirus pandemic, with the 2020 edition, Tokyo Olympics, set to begin officially on the 23rd of July at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.
However, events such as baseball, softball and most importantly, football have started two days earlier than the opening ceremony with women’s football, while men’s football is set to begin from the 22nd of July, with favourites Spain taking on Egypt in the first match of the tournament at the Sapporo Dome in Hokkaido.
⚠️ ¡¡HOY ARRANCA NUESTRO CAMINO EN LOS @juegosolimpicos!! ⚠️
⚽ Egipto – ESPAÑA
🏆 1ª jornada | Grupo C
🏟 Sapporo Dome
📍 Sapporo (Japón)
⏱️ 09:30 (hora peninsular española)
📲 @rtve💪🏻 ¡¡VAMOS A POR LOS TRES PUNTOS!!#Tokyo2020 #AlgoUnico2020 pic.twitter.com/ZmYdksAgaU
— Selección Española de Fútbol (@SEFutbol) July 22, 2021
And with the tournament just around the horizon, FootTheBall is here to provide all the details on who, when, where to watch, and some predictions.
WHEN DOES THE TOURNAMENT START?
The group stage games of men’s football at the Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to kick off on the 22nd of July at 16:30 local time (Japan Standard Time), Thursday for the Eastern Audience, and it begins in the early hours of the 22nd for viewers in the Western Hemisphere.
Timings:
PDT – Pacific Daylight Time (UTC -7) – 22nd July, 00:30
EDT – Eastern Daylight Time (UTC -4) – 22nd July, 03:30
BST – British Summer Time (UTC +1) – 22nd July, 08:30
CEST – Central European Summer Time (UTC +2) – 22nd July, 09:30
WAT – West Africa Time (UTC +1) – 22nd July, 08:30
CAT – Central Africa Time (UTC +2) – 22nd July, 09:30
GST – Gulf Standard Time (UTC +4) – 22nd July, 11:30
IST – Indian Standard Time (UTC +5.30) – 22nd July, 13:00
CST – China Standard Time (UTC +8) – 22nd July, 15:30
AEST — Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC +10) – 22nd July, 17:30
WHERE CAN YOU WATCH FOOTBALL HELD AT THE TOKYO OLYMPICS?
All of the Tokyo Olympics 2020, including the sport of football, will be streamed live on the following platforms with millions of eyeballs expected to be glued to the screen.
Brazil and Latin America – America Movil, Grupo Globo
USA – NBCUniversal
UK – BBC, Eurosport
Europe – Eurosport and all state broadcasting services
Middle East and Africa –beIN Sports, SuperSport
Asia – Dentsu
India – Sony Ten 2, Sony LIV, Doordarshan
China – CCTV, Migu
Australia – Seven Network
WHICH TEAMS ARE PARTICIPATING AND WHEN WILL THEY PLAY?
16 teams from six different continents have qualified for men’s football while 12 teams are set to compete in the women’s division.
| MEN’S FOOTBALL | |||
| GROUP A | GROUP B | GROUP C | GROUP D |
| France | Honduras | Argentina | Brazil |
| Japan | New Zealand | Australia | Germany |
| Mexico | Romania | Egypt | Ivory Coast |
| South Africa | South Korea | Spain | Saudi Arabia |
| Date | Match | Time (Local) | Venue |
| July 22 | Egypt vs Spain | 16:30 | Sapporo Dome |
| July 22 | New Zealand vs South Korea | 17:00 | Ibaraki Kashima Stadium |
| July 22 | Mexico vs France | 17:00 | Tokyo Stadium |
| July 22 | Ivory Coast vs Saudi Arabia | 17:30 | International Stadium |
| July 22 | Argentina vs Australia | 19:30 | Sapporo Dome |
| July 22 | Japan vs South Africa | 20:00 | Tokyo Stadium |
| July 22 | Honduras vs Romania | 20:00 | Ibaraki Kashima Stadium |
| July 22 | Brazil vs Germany | 20:30 | International Stadium |
| July 25 | Egypt vs Argentina | 16:30 | Sapporo Dome |
| July 25 | New Zealand vs Honduras | 17:00 | Ibaraki Kashima Stadium |
| July 25 | France vs South Africa | 17:00 | Saitama Stadium |
| July 25 | Brazil vs Ivory Coast | 17:30 | International Stadium |
| July 25 | Australia vs Spain | 19:30 | Sapporo Dome |
| July 25 | Japan vs Mexico | 20:00 | Saitama Stadium |
| July 25 | Romania vs South Korea | 20:00 | Ibaraki Kashima Stadium |
| July 25 | Saudi Arabia vs Germany | 20:30 | Saitama Stadium |
| July 28 | Saudi Arabia vs Brazil | 17:00 | Saitama Stadium |
| July 28 | Germany vs Ivory Coast | 17:00 | Miyagi Stadium |
| July 28 | Romania vs New Zealand | 17:30 | Sapporo Dome |
| July 28 | South Korea vs Honduras | 17:30 | International Stadium |
| July 28 | Australia vs Egypt | 20:00 | Saitama Stadium |
| July 28 | Spain vs Argentina | 20:00 | Saitama Stadium |
| July 28 | South Africa vs Mexico | 20:30 | International Stadium |
| July 28 | France vs Japan | 20:30 | Sapporo Dome |
| July 31 | Quarter-final 1 | 17:00 | Miyagi Stadium |
| July 31 | Quarter-final 2 | 18:00 | Ibaraki Kashima Stadium |
| July 31 | Quarter-final 3 | 19:00 | Saitama Stadium |
| July 31 | Quarter-final 4 | 20:00 | International Stadium |
| August 3 | Semi-final 1 | 17:00 | Ibaraki Kashima Stadium |
| August 3 | Semi-final 2 | 20:00 | Saitama Stadium |
| August 6 | Bronze medal match | 20:00 | Saitama Stadium |
| August 7 | Gold medal match | 20:30 | International Stadium |
PREDICTIONS
With the Olympics having men’s football an under-23 tournament, it is expected that many youngsters can pop up from high-profile situations in Tokyo while experienced veterans such as Andre-Pierre Gignac, Eric Bailly, Florian Thauvin can lead with their leadership and mentality.
Andre-Pierre Gignac will be key for France at the Olympics. (Image Courtesy: BBC/ Website)
Spain, on paper, might be too strong for the rest of the teams with the amount of quality in their squad, while defending champions Brazil will want to stop them and retain their gold medal. Germany and France too, have decent squads but FootTheBall predicts a clash between the Selecao and La Roja for the gold medal on the 7th of August.