Sports Blog 29/07/2016: 2016 Summer Olympics Preview – Men’s International Football, Thursday 4th to Saturday 20th August 2016

Will one of the usual suspects take gold in Rio, or can the Men’s international tournament throw up a surprise victor come August 20th?

Playing a (somewhat) major tournament on home soil once again, Brazil are clear favourites at a fixed odds price of 10/11. Yet the hosts haven’t ever won gold at the Olympics, becoming the perpetual bridesmaids of the competition. They took silver in 1984, 1988 and in London 4 years ago, and have even taken the bronze a couple of times, in 1996 and 2008. This time around, however, they have a not-so-secret weapon in the shape of Neymar. Barcelona made Brazil pick what competition the forward would play in this summer, the Copa American or the Olympics, with the country picking the latter (a move that arguably proved costly given their limp performance in the former). His presence should help elevate the side as a whole, with the country expected to breeze through a group that contains South Africa, Iraq and Denmark.



A fair way behind Brazil are their South American rivals Argentina, who head into the competition at 5/1 to win the gold. Argentina have won 2 of the last 3 Men’s football tournaments at the Olympics, in 2004 and 2008, only to miss out in qualifying in 2012. West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini is perhaps the most recognisable name in Argentina’s squad, alongside Atletico Madrid’s young striker Angel Correa. Argentina’s group is a bit tougher than Brazil’s; while Algeria and Honduras shouldn’t provide too many issues, Portugal, who are at 10/1 to win the competition, may cause them a few problems.

Duking it out in Group C are Mexico and Germany, at 12/1 and 11/2 respectively, who are joined by Fiji and South Korea. Mexico were the surprise winners in London 4 years ago, beating Brazil 2-1 in the final thanks to a brace from Oribe Peralta, who remains in the squad this time around. Germany, meanwhile, saw most of their success pre-reunification, with East Germany finishing in 3rd in 1964 and 1972 (which they shared with the Soviet Union), 2nd in 1980 and winning gold in 1976.

Unlike Groups A, C and D, Group B doesn’t necessarily have a clear frontrunner. Nigeria, who won gold in 1996 and were runners-up in 2008, are at 20/1, while Japan, who came 4th in 2012, are at 25/1. Sweden are somewhere between the 2 at 25/1, with Colombia leading the group at 14/1.

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