Favorites collapse: France, Germany and Argentina failed to qualify from the group at the Olympic football tournament

Olympic football tournaments are often quite unpredictable.

The Games in Tokyo were no exception, which turned out to be marked by several loud sensations at once.

The fans expected that the giants would still be able to get together for the last round of the group stage and reach the playoffs.

Unfortunately, many failed to do this after a grueling club season.

Few could have imagined that France, Argentina and Germany, which were considered one of the main contenders for gold, would not even be able to qualify for the group and would win in total only three wins in nine matches.

In the case of the compatriots of the reigning world champions (it is difficult to name Sylvain Ripoll's team otherwise), everything looks quite logical.

They frankly suffered even in the confrontation with inferior in class Mexico and South Africa and remained afloat solely thanks to the exploits of 35-year-old captain Andre-Pierre Gignac.

The veteran scored four goals in these matches and unexpectedly took the lead in the top scorers' race.

However, in the decisive meeting with Japan, in which the tricolor needed only a victory, the forward remained on dry rations, and the representatives of the Old World suffered a second crushing defeat - 0: 4.

Before the break, they missed two unanswered goals from Takefusa Kubo and Hiroki Sakai.

In the second half, the hosts distinguished themselves twice more.

At the same time, the guests, closer to the final whistle, remained in the minority after the direct removal of Randal Kolo Muani.

In fairness, the Japanese also gathered a fairly strong lineup for the Olympics, but the opponent's roster still looked much more representative.

However, the young stars did not manage to turn into a whole team-star in Tokyo.

And from the second place in Group A, Mexico made its way to the playoffs.

Even more unexpected was the failure of the Germans. The Bundestim was brought to Japan by the mentor of the local youth team, Stefan Kunz, who, according to media reports, could lead the Russian national team. With the national team under 21, he won the European Championship in the summer. Of the gold medalists of that tournament, the specialist took Amos Pieper, Jordan Torunariga and Arne Mayer to the Olympic Games, plus invited Benjamin Henrichs, Maximilan Arnold, Nadim Amiri, Eduard Loewen and even Max Kruse, who are quite prominent in the Bundesliga.

But the Germans, in fact, were remembered at the tournament only by the offer that the latter made to his girlfriend after the hardest victory over Saudi Arabia.

Now the experienced striker will be able to spend much more time with his fiancée, as Germany was eliminated after the group stage.

To reach the playoffs, she needed a victory over Ivory Coast, but Kunz's wards were content with a draw.

For almost 70 minutes they stormed other people's gates, but hit their own.

Henrichs scored his own goal.

True, the favorite quickly equalized the score.

Leuven delivered a magnificent free-kick.

Russian fans may well be happy for the Bochum midfielder, because his parents moved to Germany in the mid-1990s from Siberia.

The footballer himself was born in Idar-Oberstein, but his agent reported that Leuven has Russian citizenship.

The Germans had enough time to score another goal and beat a direct competitor, but they could not do this.

Thus, the Africans made their way to the playoffs after the Brazilians, whose colors in Japan are defending Bruno Fuchs from CSKA and Malcolm from Zenit.

The Pentacampeons beat Saudi Arabia (3: 1) in the last round, and Richarlison scored a double in their squad.

This helped the Everton striker to take the lead in goals with five goals.

If Malcolm and Fuchs still stay at the Olympic Games, then Adolfo Gaich and Esequiel Ponce can safely return to the location of CSKA and Spartak, respectively.

In the last round, Fernando Batista's wards needed a victory over Spain in order not to depend on the result of the parallel quartet meeting between Australia and Egypt.

The first half ended without goals scored, but after the break, the Latin Americans allowed Michel Merino to excel and found themselves in an almost hopeless position.

Only in the 87th minute, Thomas Belmonte equalized the score, but there wasn’t enough time for more.

As a result, Egypt left the group sensationally, scoring only one point in the first two matches.

However, the victory over Australia (2: 0) helped the “pharaohs” rise from the last place to the second.

Surprisingly, in the quarterfinals, Europe will be represented by only one national team - Spain. Apart from Germany and France, Romania also failed to break through. The team scored an equal number of points with New Zealand (four each) and lost to a competitor in goal difference. The defeat from South Korea prevented the team - 0: 4. The Asians generally started the tournament powerfully and in the last round scored six unanswered goals against Honduras. At the same time, Hwang Ui Cho converted a penalty twice and scored a hat-trick, which became the third in the tournament.

The quarterfinals will take place on July 31, and it is possible to determine the clear favorite in only two of them.

Brazil will test Egypt, and Japan, which has gotten an excellent move, will test New Zealand.

Spain in the confrontation with Cote d'Ivoire also looks preferable, but the Africans have already shown themselves to be an uncompromising team.

Finally, South Korea will face off against Mexico.

For women, the group stage was much calmer, because eight out of a dozen teams got into the playoffs, and all the strongest quietly stepped on.

From the events of the next game day, it is worth noting the second match of the Russian referee Anastasia Pustovoitova in Tokyo.

First, she worked out a meeting between Japan and Great Britain, and then received an appointment to confront the United States and Australia.

The game ended without goals scored, and the referee showed three yellow cards.

The most confident among the girls, perhaps, looks like the Netherlands, which sent 21 goals into the opponents' goal in three meetings. So in the last round of the group stage, they upset China eight times - 8: 2. The double was scored by Vivianne Miedema, the top scorer with eight goals.