Takeaways from the First Olympic Matchday

What to make of the Argentina-Morocco fiasco? Is the competition as level as it looks? Can France and Japan go all the way?

Alejandro Lozada: The Olympics have officially kicked off and what a fun first round of games. Now that we’ve had a day to process the first round of action, I share some thoughts with fellow Offside/onside analyst Mauricio Salazar-Lozada.

I’m glad I was wrong to think there wouldn’t be much to discuss today. Madness reigned on and off the pitch in Saint Etienne as Argentina lost in an upset to Morocco, Japan looked spectacular and it’s impossible to rule anyone out just yet at the moment. I was expecting to see more blowouts like Japan’s 5–0 win over Paraguay — though that game was conditioned by an early red card — but most games have instead been very close encounters. Even France’s victory against the U.S. was tighter than the 3–0 scoreline suggests.

That’s my first impression of the competition: surprise at how even the level has been across the board. This feels like a rarity for the Olympics. I might be forced to eat my words in a few days, but I’m hopeful it will stay this way.

I was left with some questions, too: Are Argentina frauds? Is Henry playing the right lineup for France? Can Morocco or Japan go all the way?

What do you make of the tournament after its first day?

Mauricio Salazar-Lozada: I agree, there’s not much difference in competition level. Apart from France and Japan, no other team won by more than a goal and even teams with elite players like Argentina and Spain suffered during their first game.

Spain vs Uzbekistan was a close match regardless of Spain’s domination of possession throughout the game. Both teams had chances to score; what ultimately cost Uzbekistan the game was how they defended crosses into the box.

I also caught part of Egypt vs Dominican Republic, which was another tight match. The Dominican national team came out strong in the first 15 minutes, but then lagged a bit behind for the remainder of the game. I think 0–0 was a fair result, though I’m not sure either of these teams will be able to challenge Spain.

Alejandro: A big sticking point this early on in my opinion has been the officiating. I think the Euros and Copa America made clear that different tournaments call for slightly different approaches to officiating. The offside call on Argentina’s late equalizer was the right one, but it felt bizarre to have it announced after a two-hour interruption. Why was there 15 minutes of added time in the first place? I also found the red card decision against Paraguay’s Wílder Viera to be very unfair and the foul call on Peter Gonzalez’s disallowed goal against Egypt.

On a lighter note, it’s been fun to watch players from our watchlist do well. Koki Saito registered two assists against Paraguay, Michael Olise scored a curler from outside the box. I am genuinely kicking myself for not including any Moroccan players on the list and for skipping Shunsuke Mito, who was spectacular for Japan. I’m excited to see more though; and hope Samu Omorodion can get some more playing time for Spain — he seems like a special player. What’d you think?

Mauricio: The officiating was questionable. There was a last-minute VAR check for a possible penalty in Uzbekistan’s favor that wasn’t given. I was at the Parc de Princes and noticed how everyone in the stands immediately saw a Uzbek shirt pulled by Spain’s Diego Lopez while defending inside their box. I still don’t understand why the spot kick wasn’t given.

What also strikes me are the different tactics at play and where each country’s veteran players fit in. For example, Thierry Henry clearly opted to place experience up front by calling up Jean-Philippe Mateta and Alexandre Lacazette while Marko Mitrovic decided to call-up two center backs, Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson, to the U.S. squad. On the other hand, Javier Mascherano spread out Argentina’s three over-23 players by calling up Rulli, Nicolás Otamendi and Julian Alvarez. This seems more practical from a tactical perspective, offering experience in each area of the pitch.

What are your thoughts on the over-23 reinforcements?

Alejandro: I did wonder why Henry called up two strikers to his squad since it seems like he is better off playing a 4–3–3 with Olise on the right and calling up a left winger (though that player would’ve been Bradley Barcola). The same is true of Argentina: Lucas Beltran is a capable striker and I’m not sure how necessary Julian Alvarez was over, say, a winger to support the attack. Then again, both Messi and Di Maria were apparently considered for this squad and neither were able to ultimately join, so it may just be that it comes down to which senior players are available to managers.

Ultimately, it’s fun to watch how the elite players stack up. Watching them struggle to take control of games is a constant reminder of just how dependent even the best players are on their teammates. If you were to ask me now I’d say France and Japan are the favorites, but thankfully there is still most of the tournament to play for. I’m excited to see what surprises the next few weeks have in store.

Thanks for reading Offside/onside! This article was originally published on our Substack. If you enjoy our work, consider subscribing for free to receive new posts.