KEIR RADNEDGE in PARIS —- The 2024 Olympic Games kicked off, literally, here today even though the formal Opening Ceremony with all its brouhaha must wait until Friday.
Eight matches – two in each of the four groups – marked the initial matchday in the men’s tournament with, in Paris itself, highly-rated Spain beating Uzbekistan 2-1 in afternoon action in Group C in the Parc des Princes.
Simultaneously Argentina 2-1 to Morocco amid chaos in Saint-Etienne when their Group B match was suspended because of crowd trouble but before the ‘goal’ had been ruled out for offside. The teams were eventually recalled to play out the last three minutes in an empty stadium.
In the Olympic capital Spain’s world under-21 champions also wrote themselves a small slice of history since these Games are the first to see the country in action in both men and women’s tournaments.
A further fascination was a sight of the next generation of outstanding young players being brought through by Spain, recently-crowned senior European champions.
Uzbekistan made a lively start which ultimately drew the first yellow card of these Olympics for the Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi, at 17 the youngest member of coach Santi Denia’s squad.
La Rojita then took the lead after their first coherent attack with a left-wing cross from Sergio Gomez being popped home at the far post by raiding rightback Marc Pubill.
Gomez, from Manchester City and one of four foreign-based players in the Spanish squad, was involved in all action.
Next he drew a secure low save from keeper Abduvohid Nematov before Uzbekistan ran away on a fatal counter-attack. Referee Dahane Beida played on after a tangle of legs and bodies in the Spanish box but was eventually advised by VAR to check the video. That resulted in an equalising penalty converted by Roma midfielder Eldor Shomurodov.
Gomez had not finished. He had a 59th-minute penalty saved by the outstretched leg of keeper Nematov then he made amends, three minutes later, to restore Spain’s lead. This time he allowed no possibiity of error in firing home deliberately from around that same penalty spot to convert a left-wing cross from fullback Juan Miranda.
Uzbekistan besieged the Spanish goal in the closing stages, which included 12 minutes of stoppage time, but all in vain.
Football’s early staging was nothing to do with the sport’s worldwide pre-eminence but the simple fact that the number of matches needs more staging time outside the traditional two weeks.
The Olympic Games is not an official event in the FIFA international calendar so clubs cannot be compelled to release players. This always prompts club v country disputes. Thus France, playing later, ere denied the services of Kylian Mbappe with his new club, Real Madrid, wanting him rested ahead of pre-season training.
The Olympic men’s tournament features 16 teams and the women’s 12 teams, including the long-dominant United States and Spain, last year’s newly-crowned Women’s World Cup winners.
The seven venues include Bordeaux, Décines-Charpieu (near Lyon), Marseille, Nantes, Nice and Saint-Etienne with the gold medal finals in the Parc des Princes in Paris.
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