Egypt and Spain will lock horns in the Olympics Group C encounter as they kickstart their respective campaigns at the tournament.

Preview

Egypt and Spain will clash on Thursday in the opening game of the men's soccer tournament at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The two sides return to the competition after an eight-year absence and will be eager to make a difference having endure tough tests to secure qualification. The former comes into the encounter on the back on of winning the 2019 CAF U23 Cup of Nations. The Pharoahs defeated Ivory Coast 2-1 after extra-time in the final to book their place.

Following their heroics in the final, they went on a four-game unbeaten run, drawing with South Korea before beating Brazil and South Africa - the latter on two seperate occasions. As one of the only three African countries who secured a spot at the tournament, Egypt will hope to make a mark just like their counterparts from the Ivory Coast and South Africa. Needless to say, the opponent they come up against will look to make the mission difficult for them as they chase their own glory.

Generally, Spain have struggled at major tournaments across all divisions in recent years but will hope to redeem themselves with another title as soon as possible. A few weeks ago, the senior men's national team came within reach of securing the European title but conceded their spot in the final to Italy after losing the penultimate clash via penalty shoot-outs. Vindication is seemingly on the horizon, and the Olympic team who have a few of the stars from the just ended tournament among the squad, will be poised to make a difference this time around.

The upcoming meeting with Egypt will be their second in history, having beaten the Pharoahs in a Group B encounter of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. The game ended 2-0 in favor of La Roja with goals coming from Francisco Soler and Roberto Solozobal. While they will be hoping for a result similar to this, they will hope to build on the 1-1 draw they secured against Japan's Olympic in the Kirin Challenge Cup last week.

Team news

Egypt have no injury concerns ahead of the clash with Spain but the European side would have to deal with the absence of Ivan Villar. The Celta Vigo man was forced to withdraw from the squad after picking up an injury.

Predicted starting XI

  • Egypt: Mohamed El Shenawy; Osama Galai, Ahmed Hegazi, Mohamed Abdel Salam, Ahmed Ramadam; Nasser Maher, Karim Fouad, Akram Tawfik; Ramadan Sobhi, Taher Mohamed, Salah Mohsen

  • Spain: Unai Simon; Marc Cucurella, Pau Torres, Eric Garcia, Oscar Mingueza; Carlos Soler, Pedri, Dani Ceballos; Marco Asensio, Dani Olmo, Rafa Mir.

Broadcast information

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

Egypt 0 - 0 Spain

July 22, 2021 3:30amSapporo Dome (Sapporo)

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

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