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Matchday 2 in men’s soccer at the 2021 Olympics will be a pivotal one.
Unlike in other tournaments where a few third-place teams can advance (like Euro 2020 or the women’s Olympic tournament), only two teams will advance from each of the four groups.
So for teams like Argentina, Germany and France, three tournament favorites who all lost their opening matches, Saturday will prove decisive. All three are big favorites in their second matches.
Brazil is now the tournament favorite at +200, with pre-tourney favorite Spain close behind at +250. Germany and Argentina have fallen from single digits to 14-1 and 12-1.
The Olympics are also not a major competition for most nations, so they often don’t send their best players and clubs are not forced to release players to the national teams. But many of the same teams you’d expect are still favored to win gold — Spain and Brazil in particular after the first day of matches.
Here’s everything you need to know about men’s soccer at the Olympics.
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Olympic Men’s Soccer Schedule & Results
All times ET.
Thursday
| Match | Time | TV |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt 0, Spain 0 | 3:30 a.m. | Olympic Channel |
| Mexico 4, France 1 | 4 a.m. | USA |
| New Zealand 1, South Korea 0 | 4:30 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Ivory Coast 2, Saudi Arabia 1 | 4:30 a.m. | Olympic Channel |
| Australia 2, Argentina 0 | 6:30 a.m. | Olympic Channel |
| Romania 1, Honduras 0 | 7 a.m. | Olympic Channel |
| Japan 1, South Africa 0 | 7 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Brazil 4, Germany 2 | 7:30 a.m. | USA |
Sunday
| Match | Time | TV |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt vs. Argentina | 3:30 a.m. | Telemundo |
| France vs. South Africa | 4 a.m. | N/A |
| New Zealand vs. Honduras | 4 a.m. | Universo |
| Brazil vs. Ivory Coast | 4:30 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Australia vs. Spain | 6:30 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Romania vs. South Korea | 7 a.m. | N/A |
| Japan vs. Mexico | 7 a.m. | NBCSN (at 8:30) |
| Saudi Arabia vs. Germany | 7:30 a.m. | N/A |
Wednesday, July 28
| Match | Time (ET) | TV channels |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia vs. Brazil | 4 a.m. | Universo |
| Germany vs. Ivory Coast | 4 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Romania vs. New Zealand | 4:30 a.m. | NBCSN |
| South Korea vs. Honduras | 4:30 a.m. | Telemundo |
| Spain vs. Argentina | 7 a.m. | Universo |
| Australia vs. Egypt | 7 a.m. | N/A |
| France vs. Japan | 7:30 a.m. | NBCSN |
| South Africa vs. Mexico | 7:30 a.m. | Telemundo |
Olympic Men’s Soccer Group Standings
The group setup for men’s Olympic soccer is pretty straightforward (unlike the women’s side or European Championship). It features four groups of four, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarterfinals.
Group A
| Team | Points |
|---|---|
| Mexico | 3 |
| Japan | 3 |
| South Africa | 0 |
| France | 0 |
France was a -110 favorite to win the group, but after losing 4-1 to Mexico, has dropped to 5-2. Mexico is now the favorite at +110, with Japan at +200.
Group B
| Team | Points |
|---|---|
| New Zealand | 3 |
| Romania | 3 |
| Honduras | 0 |
| South Korea | 0 |
There was a big upset in this group, with New Zealand shocking favorite South Korea in the opener. It’s by far the weakest group in the tournament.
Group C
| Team | Points |
|---|---|
| Australia | 3 |
| Egypt | 1 |
| Spain | 1 |
| Argentina | 0 |
Spain is still favored to win this group despite its opening match draw against Egypt. The Spaniards are a big favorite over Australia on Sunday morning.
Group D
| Team | Points |
|---|---|
| Ivory Coast | 3 |
| Brazil | 3 |
| Germany | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 0 |
Is this the closest thing to a “Group of Death” in the men’s Olympic soccer tournament?
Brazil picked up a huge win over Germany, which is now behind the eight ball. The Ivory Coast was a trendy sleeper entering the tournament and beat Saudi Arabia to start on the right foot.
Olympic Men’s Soccer Bracket
All times ET.
Quarterfinals: Saturday, July 31
Game 1: Group C winner vs. Group D runner up — 4 a.m.
Game 2: Group A winner vs. Group B runner up — 5 a.m.
Game 3: Group D winner vs. Group C runner up — 6 a.m.
Game 4: Group B winner vs. Group A runner up — 7 a.m.
Semifinals: Tuesday, Aug. 3
Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner — 4 a.m.
Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner — 7 a.m.
Medal matches
Aug. 6
Bronze medal match — 7 a.m.
Aug. 7
Gold medal match — 7:30 a.m.
Olympic Men’s Soccer Odds
Odds updated before Matchday 2 on Sunday and via Bet365.
| Team | Odds | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 200 | 28.1% |
| Spain | 250 | 24.1% |
| Japan | 700 | 10.5% |
| France | 1000 | 7.6% |
| Argentina | 1200 | 6.5% |
| Mexico | 1200 | 6.5% |
| Germany | 1400 | 5.6% |
| South Korea | 2000 | 4.01% |
| Ivory Coast | 4000 | 2.05% |
| Romania | 5000 | 1.6% |
| New Zealand | 10000 | .08% |
| Australia | 10000 | .08% |
| Honduras | 15000 | .05% |
| Egypt | 15000 | .05% |
| South Africa | 35000 | .02% |
| Saudi Arabia | 50000 | .01% |
Roster Format
The Olympics are designed to not overshadow the World Cup, so they feature just 16 teams instead of the 32-team expanded field we see every four years in the World Cup.
The rosters are also limited to mostly players under 23 years old, with each team getting three overage exemptions. Domestic clubs are also not required to release players to their national teams for the Olympics, so you won’t see most of the big names in this tournament (even though all major European clubs are in their offseasons right now).
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