Tokyo 2020: Men’s Football Round-up – Day One

Matchday one at the Olympics produced many magical moments in men’s football. Here’s a round-up of what happened across the four groups.

Group A

Mexican Firecracker

The first game in Group A was a cracker, as Mexico thumped an out of sorts French team 4-1 in Tokyo Stadium.

Alexis Vega had an attempt blocked off the line in the 16th minute by Modibo Sagnan and this was a sign of things to come.

An even first-half, shaded by a creative and hungry Mexican squad, got their just delights as they opened the scoring just after half-time. Diego Lainez had his defender on ice skates and constructed a pinpoint cross to Vega who gave Mexico a 1-0 lead.

A shell-shocked French team conceded another goal eight minutes later. Pierre Kalulu gifted Carlos Rodriguez the ball in the centre of the park, he then found the ensuing Sebastian Cordova who planted the ball into the bottom left hand of Paul Bernardonis’ net.

France made a few substitutions to change the tide of the game as Kolo Muani entered the fray on the hour mark. In the 68th minute, the substitute was brought down in the box which resulted in a penalty that Andre-Pierre Gignac dispatched.

A solo effort from Uriel Antuna in the last 10 minutes provided Mexico with a well-deserved third goal as his left-footed strike cannoned off the post and in the net.

Substitute Eduardo Aguirre scored goal number four as a mistake from the French defence allowed the forward to pounce from close range.

Group B

Historic All-Whites

A historic moment for New Zealand as they recorded their first win in the Olympics, as veteran Chris Wood scored which saw them beat South Korea 1-0.

The first-half was controlled by the South Koreans as they had six shots compared to zero from a tepid New Zealand team. Efforts from Hwang Ui-jo and Kwon Chang-hoon gave Michael Woud a scare in the All-Whites net, during constant concerted pressure from the Reds.

New Zealand recorded their first shot on target in the 63rd minute as centre-back Nando Pijnaker tested goalkeeper Song Bum-Keun with a precise header on goal. New Zealand were given further boots of confidence after Winston Reid made a goal-line clearance to the pleasure of his goalkeeper Woud.

This gave the All-Whites the impetus to attack, and they took the lead in the 70th minute, as the ever-lively Wood showed his Premier League class in the box, reacting to a deflected shot the quickest and finessing his shot into the bottom right-hand corner. VAR was used to check the goal for offside, however, the goal was given much to New Zealand’s relief and pleasure.

South Korea had a flurry of attempts at goal in the final 15 minutes of the game, but Woud and his defenders stood tall for a historic win in the Kashima Stadium.

Group C

Battle of Sapporo

The battle-hardened Olyroos gave Argentina a taste of their own medicine as they won a temper flared clash 2-0 in a match that delivered 11 yellow cards and one red at the Sapporo Dome.

The midfield of Australia more than matched their counterparts with endeavor and bravery on the ball, with Connor Metcalfe and Riley McGree controlling the middle of the park.

It was Lachlan Wales who broke the deadlock in the 15th minute. Mitchell Duke received a raking pass, and he supplied the forward with an easy tap-in at the far post for the lead.

Argentina responded with a goal-bound shot cleared off the line by the Australian defence and rattled the crossbar with an attempt by Francisco Ortega.

Ortega had a day to forget, as he was dismissed in the 45th minute with a second yellow from a defensive corner, McGree was also given a yellow card for his part in the fracas.

The second-half was a bitty, scrappy, and ill-disciplined contest, where eight yellow cards were dished out to both sets of players.

Australia mounted pressure on the 10-man Argentina side but didn’t produce an effort on Jeremias Ledesma’s net until the 69th minute.

In the 80th minute, Marco Tilio riffled the ball into the goal from his first touch on the pitch, having just been substituted into the match a minute earlier.

Aldolfo Gaich tested Australia’s goalkeeper Tom Glover in the final moments of the game, but by then it was too little too late for La Albiceleste, and Australia earned a well-fought-out win.

Group D

Four Star Brazil

A star-studded Brazil dispatched a poor Germany side 4-2 in the final game of the day at the Yokohama Stadium as Richarlison provided a first-half hat-trick for the Selecao.

In the 10th minute, Richarlison received a pass from Anthony, which was initially saved by Muller, but expertly finished by the forward at the second attempt. Cunha, Richarlison, and Claudinho peppered the German goal, so it was no surprise Brazil got the second of the contest.

Richarlison was once again on the end of a well-timed cross from the left-hand side of the Brazilian attack, where he rose the highest to head the ball in the hapless German net in the 22nd minute.

With 15 minutes left in the first-half, frustrations boiled over as German captain Maximilian Arnold received a yellow card for dangerous play. Germany’s pain wasn’t eased as Cunha fed Richarlison again, and he nonchalantly sent the ball into the bottom right-hand corner of the net to make it 3-0.

The second-half of proceedings continued like the first period, as Brazil peppered their opposition with shots.

Nevertheless, this is football, and anything can happen. Germany scored a freak goal as Nadiem Amiri had a pot shot which Brazilian goalkeeper Santos failed to deal with. Joy was short-lived for the German’s as their captain received his marching orders for a second yellow in the 63rd minute with an innocuous challenge.

Germany pulled another goal back after going down to 10 men, as substitute Ragnar Ache headed in an unerring finish to make the game interesting at 3-2.

The game was settled in the 90th minute as Bruno Guimaraes assigned forward Paulinho with a through ball that split the defence. He completed the scoring with a lovely finish to make it four to Brazil, who had a great day at the office.

Day one continued

Japan 1-0 South Africa – A solitary strike by Golden Star Takefusa Kubo gave Japan their first win in Group A for the host nation.

Honduras 0-1 Romania – An own goal by Elvin Oliva saved the day for Romania as they took all three points in an entertaining affair.

Egypt 0-0 Spain – A well-contested match between these two nations ended in a draw. Spain were left feeling frustrated as two key players sustained heavy injuries.

Ivory Coast 2-1 Saudi Arabia – A red card couldn’t dampen Ivory Coast’s win, as Frank Kessie secured the win for the Elephants.

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