FIFA.com – The 16 teams that will take part in the 2004 Olympic Football Tournament have all come through an arduous qualification process en route for Athens. This morning’s draw split the teams into four groups of four, with the top two countries from each group progressing to the quarter-finals. None of the groups offer an easy passage to the next round, but the battle promises to be especially fierce in Group B.
Like everyone else, hosts Greece were hoping for a comfortable draw and France’s Christian Karembeu, who plays his club football for Olympiakos in Greece, seems to have fulfilled his adopted homeland’s wishes by placing them in Group A. Though they are satisfied with the draw, the Greeks will nevertheless have to be at their very best to qualify from a pool containing Mali, the Korean Republic and Mexico. Greece manager Stratos Apostolakis is confident his troops are up to the job. “It’s a good draw,” he told fifa.com, “We’ve avoided the big guns in Groups B and C.”
Group B is unquestionably the toughest. There will be no quarter asked nor given when the powerhouses of Paraguay, Italy and Ghana collide, and even up-and-coming Japan is in with a solid shout. The Paraguayans have excelled in all youth categories in recent years and qualified for the tournament in impressive fashion. Ghana’s Black Meteors, meanwhile, return to the Games for the first time since claiming the Bronze at Barcelona 1992 and will be intent on continuing sub-Saharan Africa’s recent dominance in the competition.
Italy comes to the tournament as undisputed kings of their continent following their emphatic 3-0 victory over Serbia and Montenegro in the Final of the U-21 European Championships. The fourth team in the group, Japan, may not have glittering pedigree, but with Japanese football making great strides in recent years it would be very foolish to dismiss their chances.
Group C is no cake-walk either, with Argentina, Tunisia, Australia and Serbia and Montenegro all vying for qualification. The South Americans may look the strongest on paper, but in reality it is impossible to pick a side that will definitely go through; all four teams have legitimate aspirations to making the cut
Portugal will start as favourites to top Group D, but Morocco, Costa Rica and an Iraqi team that qualified against enormous odds will all have something to say about that.
The feast of football kicks of on 11 August and one man who is already looking forward to it is Issa Hayatou, Vice-President of FIFA and President of the organising committee of the Olympic Football Tournaments: “Football will have the honour of opening the Olympic Games,” he explained just before today’s draw, “We should be enormously proud of that.”
Olympic Men’s Draw
Group A
Greece
Korea Republic
Mali
Mexico
Group B
Paraguay
Japan
Ghana
Italy
Group C
Argentina
Serbia & Montenegro
Tunisia
Australia
Group D
Costa Rica
Morocco
Iraq
Portugal
Germany and China to lock horns in first round
The draw for the Olympic Women’s Football Tournament took place amid searing heat in Athens this morning, dividing the 10 participating countries into three groups. In a competition crammed with quality, Group F looks particularly appetising.
Germany may be world champions; by they would be well advised not to take anything for granted as they prepare to navigate a way through a Group F that features both China, who are determined to make amends for their disappointing displays at the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup USA, and Mexico, who qualified in outstanding style.
Heike Ullrich, head of the Women’s Football department of the DFB, is well aware that Birgit Prinz and company will have to be at the peak of their powers to progress: “The Chinese have just beaten us in our own backyard, so we’ll have to give it everything we’ve got against them,” she said, “we’re well familiar with the Mexicans too and know they deserve total respect. We certainly won’t be taking anybody lightly.”
On the face of things, FIFA World Cup runners-up Sweden appear to have landed more softly by being pitched into Group E, where both Nigeria and Japan have plenty of experience but have not yet hit the same highs as the Scandinavians. Meanwhile in Group G, the USA will start as favourites by virtue of their victory in 1996 and Silver medal in 2000, but Brazil, who reached the semi-finals on both those occasions, will certainly be no push-overs.
In addition, Australia will be hoping to build on the progress they have made in recent years, while Greece, buoyed by the support of the home crowd, will surely prove tricky opponents. Indeed, Greece coach Xanthi Konstantinidou is not ruling out a venture to the second round for the hosts: “Playing USA and Brazil is a massive challenge,” she told fifa.com. “above all, it will be a tremendous adventure, and who knows, maybe we could spring a surprise!” With the top two teams from each group to go through, surprises are certainly not out of the question.
Olympic Women’s Draw
Group E
Sweden
Japan
Nigeria
Group F
Germany
China PR
Mexico
Group G
Greece
USA
Brazil
Australia