Soccer at the Olympics! (Olympic Football!)

Well the games that I looked forward to in my last post have taken place and there were some surprises and some great performances! Japan and Sweden opened things on the 28th with an inauspicious 0-0 draw. However, New Zealand v.s. Brazil was a close, tense battle that finished 0-1 to the South Americans. Then came the high-scoring parties: Canada hammered South Africa 3-0 before the United States defeated Colombia by the same score (though with a bit more controversy after Abby Wambach was punched by Lady Andrade and 29 other fouls were committed throughout the game). In a more tame game, Great Britain v.s. Cameroon similarly finished 3-0 in favor of the home side. The last game of the day took place between the French and the North Koreans. It seemed a completely different side of North Koreans from their opening 2-0 victory over Colombia but that is the nature of soccer! As it was, France ran out 5-0 winners. On to the men's action on the 29th of July which saw Egypt and New Zealand play out a 1-1 draw to start things off. Mexico was victorious over Gabon by a margin of 2-0 while Brazil defeated Belarus 3-1 to end the morning games. At noon Japan edged Morocco 1-0 while Senegal upset Uruguay in a 2-0 shocker! South Korea and Switzerland finished 2-1 before the afternoon games arrived: Great Britain faced the United Arab Emirates and sank 3 past them though admittedly allowing one into the back of their own net. As for the last game of the day, Spain were left with a bad taste in their mouth as Honduras managed to pull off a one-goal wonder: they denied Spain their chances and finished on top in the process after a goal in the 7th minute from Jerry Bengtson! However, if the score had been decided on by yellow cards the Spanish might just have won: 7 for them while Honduras had "just" 6! And what do you have to look forward to? Well, tomorrow (July 31st) the women return with an in-form Japan squaring off against a South Africa who have no hope of progressing to the next round. Then, Canada, who must win to have a hope at qualifying, face Sweden who are in a slightly better position tied at the top of the table with the Japanese. The U.S. then take on North Korea a little after noon with the North Koreans' only hope coming if they are victorious by a margin that the French cannot better against a Colombian side that have no hope of making it through. As far as the afternoon games are concerned, New Zealand's match with Cameroon is largely a battle over pride while Brazil's game with Great Britain will decide who faces who in the next round. And then on the 1st of August we have the men playing. Brazil v.s. New Zealand provides little hope for the Kiwis to advance while Egypt's match with Belarus may be a more tightly contested affair. Japan v.s. Honduras is the match-up of the first and second place teams in their table respectively while Morocco and Spain who play at the same time both have barely any chance at all to go on. Also at noon, Mexico face Switzerland in a game the Swiss must win to have any hope of surviving. The Mexicans must likewise win because their position in the next round is in no way assured. South Korea and Gabon are the last of the noon-time games with similar stakes as the previous match-up: technically, either side could still go through depending on the results. Last but certainly not least we have Senegal taking on the United Arab Emirates while Great Britain face a serious threat from the Uruguayans. Try to catch some of what I am sure is going to be an exciting couple of days!