Zurich (AFP)
Mexico in Tokyo, to begin with, then South Africa and finally Japan, the host country: for its return to the Olympic Games after 25 years of absence, the France team inherited Wednesday during the draw of 'a balanced and homogeneous group.
The announcement of the lists of selected players is still a long way off and it is therefore difficult to get a clear idea of the forces present at the Olympic tournament, which will be held in Japan from July 22 to August 7.
We still know that the French Olympic team will look great, with or without Kylian Mbappé, and that it probably escaped some of its most formidable rivals on Wednesday, such as Brazil, defending champion, or the Argentina.
The French have not participated in the tournament since 1996, they had indeed been placed in hat 4 and knew they would have to face a seed.
It will finally be the host country, Japan, that Sylvain Ripoll's team will face in Yokohama for their third and last match in Group A.
Previously, the French will have started their tournament on July 22 in Tokyo against Mexico, then faced South Africa on July 25 in Saitama.
Affordable, this draw also offers the France team the small advantage of playing its three group matches in the same region, since Saitama and Yokohama are in the Greater Tokyo area, about thirty kilometers from the capital.
The draw organized Wednesday in Zurich also reserved a complicated course for the Brazilian title holders.
Sacred in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro with Neymar, the Auriverde will indeed face Germany, Ivory Coast and Saudi Arabia in Group D.
Group C is also relieved with Egypt, which hopes the presence of Mohamed Salah, Spain, Argentina and Australia.
Finally, in group B, the two qualifying places for the quarter-finals will be played between New Zealand, South Korea, Honduras and Romania.
In the women's tournament, the Americans, double reigning world champions and big favorites for the gold medal, will face Sweden, but also Australia and New Zealand.
The players of the "Team USA" also have a revenge to take after the Rio Olympics, the only ones in which they failed to reach the final (four titles and a silver medal in the first five editions) .
The groups
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Men's tournament:
Group A: Japan, South Africa, Mexico, France.
Group B: New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Honduras, Romania.
Group C: Egypt, Spain, Argentina, Australia.
Group D: Brazil, Germany, Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia.
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Women's tournament
Group E: Japan, Canada, Great Britain, Chile.
Group F: China, Brazil, Zambia, Netherlands.
Group G: Sweden, United States, Australia, New Zealand.
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