I Owe Olympic Football an Apology
I was not familiar with your game.
I’ve watched about 35 minutes of Olympic football—men’s and women’s combined—since the tournaments kicked off in Paris this month, but I am willing to admit when I’m wrong. I was not familiar with the five-ring game, an apology is owed, and I might just tune in now the quarterfinals are here and my football exhaustion from this summer of major tournaments is wearing off.
The Americans are into the last eight across both competitions, perhaps on their way to redeeming U.S. Soccer from a so-far dismal summer. The men have Morocco, while the USWNT have drawn Japan. As far as the hosts, the French men will meet Argentina in a champagne quarterfinal and the French women face Brazil in another marquee fixture.
Those Brazilians will be playing for Marta, their captain, leader, and legend, but they’ll be without her. The 38-year-old was shown a shocking red card against Spain in their final group game and wept as she left the pitch, surely fearing it was an ignominious end to her illustrious career at major international tournaments. But the Canarinhas skated through to the knockout phase by a single unit of goal difference (they were -2 to Australia’s -3) and now her teammates have the chance to hand her one more appearance on this grand stage.
The summer podcast break continues this week, but preparations are underway for the new season. In the meantime, we’ll be posting some classic clips with some of our greatest guests—Robbie Earle, Clive Tyldesley, Derek Rae, Jon Champion and more—to Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok over the coming days. Follow us there and check out the first installment here:
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FRIDAY
MOROCCO vs UNITED STATES
9am ET, 2pm BST
The U.S. men bounced back from a stinging defeat to hosts France in their opener with back-to-back victories over New Zealand and Guinea to book a bout with the Moroccans, who finished above Argentina in Group B. Achraf Hakimi is the big name for the junior Atlas Lions as they continue to build their reputation as a footballing institution after the senior team reached the semifinals at the 2022 World Cup.
JAPAN vs SPAIN
11am ET, 4pm BST
It’s the summer of Spain. For all the farce of their federation over the last couple of years, the Spaniards are winning just about every tournament on offer, not least EURO 2024 last month. Their men’s U-23 team will meet Japan in the quarterfinals not long after these two met in the women’s tournament. On the other side, the Japanese dominated a somewhat weak Group D, the only side outside of France to claim nine group-stage points.
EGYPT vs PARAGUAY
1pm ET, 6pm BST
This is not the standout fixture of the round on paper, but Egypt did scoot in front of Spain to finish top of Group C and the Paraguayans have a decent Olympic legacy: they reached the final 20 years ago in Athens, where they lost out to an Argentina team studded with stars including Carlos Tevez, Javiers Saviola and Mascherano, Gabriel Heinze, Roberto Ayala and more.
FRANCE vs ARGENTINA
3pm ET, 8pm BST
Speaking of Mascherano, he’ll be coaching his country when they meet France for the actual standout fixture of the quarters. The French were perfect in Group A, the Argentines less so in Group B, and yet this one remains very difficult to call. Unfortunately, the football will be somewhat overshadowed by the continuing fallout from the Argentina senior team’s caught-on-video decision to sing derogatory songs about black French players following their Copa América win. All that’s to say that, in addition to the high technical level here, it could be spicy.
SATURDAY
USA vs JAPAN
9am ET, 2pm BST
Two powers of the women’s game meet at the quarterfinal stage, as the four-time World Cup winners meet the 2011 champions. The Japanese defeated the U.S. on penalties in the final, but they had to settle for silver at the Olympics the following year when the Americans beat them in the gold-medal match at Wembley. This is a revitalized USWNT under head coach Emma Hayes, as the Yanks took maximum points in the group stage and smashed in nine goals, conceding just two. They look serious!
SPAIN vs COLOMBIA
11am ET, 4pm BST
Spain were the other team to take nine points in the women’s group stage, and they’re also the reigning World Cup champions. They’ve brought a galaxy of stars, many from the FC Barcelona team that won the quadruple last season, and they will be formidable favorites against a Colombia side that escaped out of Group A despite losing two of three matches.
CANADA vs GERMANY
1pm ET, 6pm BST
The Germans were bludgeoned 4-1 by the United States in Group B, but they rattled off two victories to qualify for the knockouts. They’ve drawn a team in no little turmoil after the Canadians were caught using drones to spy on their opposition. Head coach Bev Priestman was handed a one-year ban and they were docked six points in their group, leaving them no option but to win three of three matches in Group A. They did their part, hoping for favorable results elsewhere, and now they’re here. The red maple leafs are the defending gold medalists and—having survived their rough ride so far—may feel like a team of Houston Astros-style destiny.
FRANCE vs BRAZIL
3pm ET, 8pm BST
More global names gather together to mix it up. The Brazilians have everything to play for, but the French will want to distinguish themselves in front of a home crowd at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes. They should make for slight favorites considering Brazil qualified third out of Group C, but their opponents here will be fighting for themselves and their captain.
SPORTING vs PORTO
3:15pm ET, 8:15pm BST
There’s also the Portuguese Supertaça. League champions Sporting face last season’s Taça de Portugal winners Porto. One of the world’s most in-demand strikers, Viktor Gyökeres, could be on show for Sporting after a season where he logged 37 goals and 12 assists in 44 matches.
SUNDAY
DUNDEE UNITED vs DUNDEE
8:30am ET, 1:30pm BST
It’s the Dundee derby, which is a lot of fun to say and also carries a very particular distinction: the stadiums these two call home are about 200 yards apart, closer together than any other two grounds in Britain. This match will be played at Tannadice Park, just a few skips down Tannadice Street from Dens Park, home of Dundee F.C.⚽︎