Olympics 2016
The 2016 Olympic football tournament will kick off on August 4th, when Iraq open up proceedings against Denmark in Brasilia. While European attention gently drifts away from a perceived Micky-Mouse event to their own continental tournament earlier in the summer and the start of the domestic season, experience dictates that African and Asian viewers will be gearing up for one of the most important competitions in the international football calendar.
We can point back to as recently as London 2012 where the likes of Mohamed Salah and Omar Abdulrahman came of age onto the global radar after impressive tournaments in the colours of Egypt and UAE respectively. Here at Sandals for Goalposts we’ll guide you through the tournament, as we hope for medals, or at least to unearth a new continental star.
Continue to check back here for further previews, updates and digest covering the whole tournament in Brazil.
Three month countdown – Martin Lowe gives us an update on the preparations of all six representatives from Africa and Asia, three months ahead of their Olympic adventure.
Stars of the Olympics – Salim Said profiles some of Africa’s national heroes who emerged as stars on the international stage at previous Olympic games.
Team Previews
Algeria Preview
Iraq Preview
Japan Preview
Nigeria Preview
South Africa Preview
South Korea Preview
Tournament Schedule
Group Stage Openers – Thursday 4th August 2016
Iraq (0) v (0) Denmark (Group A)
Brazil (0) v (0) South Africa (Group A)
Nigeria (5) v (4) Japan (Group B)
Fiji (0) v (8) South Korea (Group C)
Honduras (3) v (2) Algeria (Group D)
Our Day 1 Observations (Africa)
Our Day 1 Observations (Asia)
Group Stage Match 2 – Sunday 7th August 2016
Germany (3) v (3) South Korea (Group C)
Argentina (2) v (1) Algeria (Group D)
Denmark (1) v (0) South Africa (Group A)
Sweden (0) v (1) Nigeria (Group B)
Brazil (0) v (0) Iraq (Group A)
Japan (2) v (2) Colombia (Group B)
Group Stage Match 3 – Wednesday 10th August 2016
Algeria (1) v (1) Portugal (Group D)
South Korea (1) v (0) Mexico (Group C)
Japan (1) v (0) Sweden (Group B)
Colombia (2) v (0) Nigeria (Group B)
South Africa (1) v (1) Iraq (Group A)
Quarter-Finals – Saturday 13th August 2016
Nigeria (2) v (0) Denmark
South Korea (0) v (1) Honduras
Our Quarter-Finals Day Observations (Asia)
Semi-Finals – Wednesday 17th August 2016
Nigeria v Germany
Sandals For Goalposts 