Action from the Tokyo Olympics available on TV or via live stream this weekend
The men's football tournament at the Tokyo Olympics is well under way as we are down to the last eight in Tokyo. Brazil are emerging as the clear favourites to take gold. Spain have the standout squad on paper. Mexico and South Korea are scoring goals for fun and both look like dark horses to take the top prize. The last eight are all in action this Saturday and here's how you can watch live on TV or live stream.
All games are played Saturday 31 July from Japan. All times are GMT.
09:00 Spain vs Ivory Coast
Spain have taken Unai Simon, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Pau Torres, Mikel Oyarzabal and Eric Garcia straight from their young Euro 2020 squad which fell agonisingly short against eventual winners Italy at the semi final stage to the Olympic Games. Their over-aged players are none other than Mikel Merino, Dani Ceballos and Marco Asensio, not bad at all. Despite having undoubtedly the best squad at the tournament on paper, La Roja haven't quite reached top gear during the group stage. They topped their group on 5 points with Merino and Oyarzabal scoring their only two goals so far. They do look very solid at the back, having only conceded once across those three games. It's a similar start to the one they had at the Euros.
🇪🇸 A point takes Spain through to an #OlympicFootball quarter-final against Côte d'Ivoire 🏅
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) July 28, 2021
🇦🇷 Argentina miss out on a last-eight slot 😢#Olympics | #Tokyo2020 | #Football pic.twitter.com/3FbteQOjDK
They come up against an Ivory Coast side which also only managed two goals in the group stage. The Elephants have certainly made the most of their over-age players allowance with the likes of captain Max Gradel, who will be best known to British fans for his time at Leicester City, Bournemouth and Leeds United but now plays for Sivasspor in Turkey, and Manchester United centre back Eric Bailly. AC Milan powerhouse Franck Kessie makes it in as a standard selection after the age limit was raised to 24 and Bailly's teenage teammate Amad Diallo is also in the squad.
This could be a cagey, low scoring affair based on the results from the group stage but if Spain take things up a notch they should have enough to win here.
10.00 Japan vs New Zealand
Hosts Japan, clearly inspired by hometurf advantage, were the only side to acquire maximum points during the group stage, winning all three games. They narrowly beat South Africa and Mexico before somewhat surprisingly destroying France 4-0. They are captained by former Southampton centre back Maya Yoshida and Real Madrid wonderkid Takefusa Kubo has already scored three goals in the opening three games. The Japanese will take some beating as they hunt for Olympic gold this summer.
Takefusa Kubo - The only male footballer to score in EVERY group game at #Tokyo2020
— Olympics (@Olympics) July 28, 2021
⚽️🆚🇿🇦
⚽️🆚🇲🇽
⚽️🆚🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/d6T3MM0gA1
Their opponents New Zealand could be good value for an upset. They held both Romania and South Korea and only conceded against Honduras who beat them 3-2. West Ham United centre back and World Cup 2010 hero Winston Reid is the All Whites' talismanic captain at the tournament and the ever dependable Burnley striker Chris Wood has already popped up with two goals.
New Zealand will have no shortage of fight in them and if things go their way they could just knock the hosts out.
11.00 Brazil vs Egypt
Brazil are emerging as tournament favourites as the action moves into the quarter finals. With a squad boasting stars like evergreen captain Dani Alves, Richarlison and Douglas Luiz among others, they are a force to be reckoned with at the Tokyo Olympics. Only Spain really match them on paper. Everton forward Richarlison has already scored five goals from three games, including a hat trick against Germany, and is well on his way to being the tournament's top scorer. Brazil stormed through their group on 7 points and look a frightening proposition going forward.
However in Egypt they will find a well organised, resolute opponent that doesn't give a lot away. They conceded only one goal in their three group games and will be tough to break down. Former West Bromwich Albion centre back Ahmed Hegazi is captain and will marshal his defence with the sole aim of shutting down the exciting young players in Brazil's front line. The Pharaohs are not so electric going forward as they failed to score in their first two games. Fortunately, goals from Ahmed Rayyan and Amar Hamdi saw them comfortably beat Australia in their third game and book their place in the quarter final.
🚨 ⚽️ 🗳️@Hegazi | @EFA | @ittihad | @jfa_samuraiblue | @realmadrid | @richarlison97 | @CBF_Futebol | @Everton | @Alexis_Vega9 | @miseleccionmx | @Chivas | #OlympicFootball | #Tokyo2020
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) July 28, 2021
Which of these players was more impressive in the group stage?
If the African side can keep it tight and grab a goal from a set piece, they have a fighting chance, but you'd fully expect Richarlison to keep his good form going and lead Brazil to a comfortable victory.
12.00 South Korea vs Mexico
Nobody has scored more goals than these two.
Things didn't look good for South Korea when they lost 1-0 to New Zealand in their opening game but 10 goals from their last two outings has certainly changed the look of things. Whatever coach Hak-bum Kim said in training between games one and two seems to have paid off. Shockingly the fantastic Son Heung-Min was permitted to go to the tournament by Spurs but Kim decided to leave him out in order to "protect his fitness". That may have seemed like an error following the New Zealand defeat after hammering Romania 4-0 and Honduras 6-0, they don't seem to need him. Bordeaux striker Hwang Ui-Jo scored a hat trick in that final group game and is definitely the one to watch in this squad and in this game.
The top scorers at the Men's Olympic #Football in #Tokyo2020 #BRA Richarlison (5)#FRA André-Pierre Gignac (4) #KOR Hwang Ui-jo (3)#KOR Lee Kang-in (3)#JPN Takefusa Kubo (3)
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) July 28, 2021
Richarlison is looking to be the fourth Brazilian to top the goalscoring charts at the Olympics. pic.twitter.com/paf7fIiBNU
Mexico are second in the goalscoring charts on eight goals. They got off to a flying start when they, like Japan, put four past France in their opening game. They hit a speedbump when the Japanese beat them 2-1 but a comfortable 3-0 victory over South Africa sees them into the last eight with six points, the same as South Korea. Their captain and talisman is iconic goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. Real Betis youngster Diego Lainez is the only member of the squad plying his trade outside of Mexico and is certainly one to keep an eye on, while young Guadalajara winger Alexis Vega has scored two goals so far at the summer tournament.
If these two click we could be in for a real goal fest and it's very hard to choose between them. The winner will go into the semi finals with a lot of confidence and a real shot at making the gold medal match at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama.
How to watch men's Olympic football in the UK
You can follow all the action from this weekend's men's quarter final stage all the way to the gold medal match on TV and live stream with Eurosport and Discovery+. This Saturday's games will be broadcast on Eurosport 2. Subscribers to Sky, Virgin or BT sport packages will have access to Eurosport channels.
🇧🇷 🆚 Germany: ⚽⚽⚽
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) July 28, 2021
🇧🇷 🆚 Saudi Arabia: ⚽⚽@richarlison97's form for Brazil at #Tokyo2020 has been 👌🔥#Football | @CBF_Futebol
You can also watch online via live stream with the Eurosport player which you can access through Discovery+ or Amazon Prime Video. Subscribers will have access to all the action from this summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo including all Olympic football matches.
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