The hosts are the overwhelming favourites to take the gold medal, the one prize that the nation’s football team are eligible for but have never won. Indeed, while Brazil have claimed the World Cup five times and the Copa America on eight occasions, they have never been able to come out on top in the Games; there were near misses in 1984, 1988 and 2012, when they finished as runners-up to France, the Soviet Union and Mexico respectively, and their failure to go all the way previously is part of the reason why they are taking the tournament so seriously this time around.
With Neymar, Marquinhos and Felipe Anderson included in their 18-man squad, it is easy to see why Rogerio Micale’s men are so widely fancied to triumph in their own country in a way that Brazil’s senior side were unable to do at the World Cup two years ago. They should have little trouble in finishing on top of Group A, with Denmark likely to edge out Iraq and South Africa and qualify for the quarter-finals in second spot.
Group B contains Japan, Sweden, Colombia and Nigeria, with the latter duo the favourites to progress to the last eight. It is by far the most open section of the competition, however, and it would not be too much of a surprise to see either the Swedes or the Japanese advance instead. Nigeria have included Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel in their travelling party, while Colombia have brought along 31-year-old striker Teofilo Gutierrez.
Germany and holders Mexico are two other countries who will have designs on the gold medal, with the pair set to go head-to-head in Group C on Thursday. The Germans have included overage trio Sven Bender, Lars Bender and Nils Petersen in their squad alongside talented youngsters Matthias Ginter, Max Meyer and Julian Brandt, while Mexico have the likes of Hirving Lozano, Erick Torres and Oribe Peralta to call upon as they seek to retain the title they won in London four years ago. South Korea will be poised to take advantage if one of the above countries stumble, but Fiji will struggle to make any impact in the third segment of the tournament.
Argentina are the frontrunners in Group D, which also features Portugal, Algeria and Honduras. The Albiceleste’s preparation for the competition has been rather chaotic, but now that they have crossed the border to Brazil they should be taken seriously as contenders. Portugal will probably join them in the next round, although neither side are likely to be able to stop the hosts if they meet in the latter stages of the tournament.
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