Olympic Men’s Football Preview: Japan U23 Aims for Revenge After Topping Group, Spain U23 Well-Rested and Threatening

On August 2nd at 23:00, in the quarterfinals of the Olympic men’s football tournament, Japan U23 will face off against Spain U23 at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.

Japan U23 performed exceptionally well in the U23 Asian Cup in April 2024. Although they lost 0-1 to their long-standing rivals South Korea U23 in the third round of the group stage, they breezed through their knockout matches against host Qatar U23, as well as Iraq U23 and Uzbekistan U23, ultimately securing the championship. In this tournament’s group stage, Japan U23 defeated Paraguay U23, who topped the South American qualifiers, with a convincing 5-0 win, virtually securing their place in the knockout rounds. In the following two group stage matches, Japan U23 relied on the excellent performance of center forward Shoda Hosogai to narrowly win 1-0 against Mali U23 and Israel U23, advancing to the quarterfinals as group leaders.

Historically, Japan U23’s best performance in the Olympics is fourth place (at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics). Although head coach Go Oiwa had expressed his ambition to lead an overage-player-free Japan Olympic team to a medal before the tournament began, after the group stage he acknowledged that the chances of winning a medal were slim. From a squad perspective, Japan U23 may be without midfielder Riai Yamamoto, who was substituted at halftime during the match against Israel U23, with no injury information provided by Coach Oiwa post-match.

Following the senior national team’s victory over England in the Euro final earlier, Spain U23 are one of the favorites to win the gold at these Olympics. However, in the opening group stage match, they faced significant challenges against Central Asian powerhouse Uzbekistan U23. The team only regained the lead in the 62nd minute thanks to Gómez, who had just missed a penalty, and they found themselves under intense pressure towards the end of the game.

In the second group stage match, Spain U23 beat the relatively weaker Dominican Republic U23 3-1. In the final group match, despite having already qualified, they suffered a surprising 1-2 loss to Egypt U23, casting a shadow over their knockout prospects. When asked if there were any deliberate reasons for losing to Egypt U23, Spain U23 head coach De la Fuente denied it, stating that the defeat in the last group stage match was beneficial and that he would take full responsibility for the loss against Egypt U23.

In terms of the lineup, Spain will welcome back starting center-back Koubassi, who was forced to sit out the match against Egypt U23 due to receiving two yellow cards. His replacement, Mochila, performed poorly. Additionally, Spain U23 is likely to reintroduce Fermin, Baena, Garcia, and goalkeeper Tenas into the starting lineup. All of them were rested in the third group stage match, ensuring their fitness levels are maintained.

The teams met in the knockout stages of the previous Olympics, where Spain U23 defeated Japan U23 in extra time thanks to a goal from star player Asensio. Before this match, Japan U23 captain Riai Yamamoto expressed a desire for revenge. As the only team without overage players in this tournament, Japan U23’s emergence from the group stage has been impressive. Will they withstand the pressure and pull off a surprise victory against the well-rested and formidable Spain U23 to advance to the semifinals?

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