On July 24, the men's soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics officially kicked off. Favorites France, Spain, Argentina, as well as the impact of the medal-winning Japanese team all appeared. Soccer Daily specially listed the new stars worth watching in this Olympics.
Legendary footballer Thierry Henry is at the helm of the French team, which is strong despite the French Football Federation failing to persuade Real Madrid to release Mbappe, while as many as 10 players of age such as Saliba, Emery, Yolo, and Barkola have been denied release by their respective clubs. The lineup includes strong players such as winger Oliseh, who just joined Bayern, center back Lukaba (RB Leipzig), front man Miyu (Stuttgart), Cherky (Lyon), and left winger Doue (Rennes). Meanwhile, Lyon's Lacazette will captain the team as an overage player, and the French team definitely has the strength to compete for the title.
The Spanish team won the recently concluded European Cup, and naturally the fans want them to get another gold medal at the Olympics. The team has Cubasi, Fermín, Barrios, Gutiérrez, and other rookies who have made a name for themselves in La Liga. Baena and Fermín are members of the new Eurocup winning team, a team that has strong title contenders.
The most notable member of the Argentinean team is the 18-year-old forward Echeverri, who signed for Manchester City at the beginning of the year. This talented player from River Plate's youth academy is known as "The Little Devil", and will officially join Manchester City early next year. Another notable player is Alvarez, a player who has played for River Plate, Manchester City and Argentina and has won almost all the club and national team titles, the only thing missing is the Olympic gold medal.
Spanish
: Fermín, Cubasi, Barrios, Gutiérrez, S. Gómez.
Guinea
: Moriba
French
:: Oliseh, Lukpa, Miyu, Cherki, Douai.
Paraguay
: Enciso
Palestine
: Red Bull Salzburg striker Gluck
Uzbekistan
: CSKA Moscow striker Fyzuraev
This year's U23 Asian Cup winners, Japan, are the only team out of the 16 participating teams that do not use overage players. With seven travelers to Europe in their squad, this team is still full of promise despite not being augmented by overage players. The Japanese national Olympic team finished fourth in both 2012 and 2021, and this time they are aiming for a medal.
