We're just a week away from witnessing even more international football. As if the merging Premier League seasons/Euro 2020/Copa América run wasn't enough.
The Men's tournament will begin on Thursday, July 22nd. The Women's competition will start a day earlier.
Sixteen teams will feature in the men's bracket, representing six different continents. They are split into four groups of four, with Brazil, Argentina, South Korea and hosts Japan the top seeds in each group.
The men's side of the draw is essentially each countries under-23 team, with three over-age players in each squad. Those born before January 1st 1997 are ineligible, unless selected as an over-age player.
Japan, South Africa, Mexico and France make up Group A. Group B features South Korea, New Zealand, Honduras and Romania.
Group C will pit together Argentina, Spain, Egypt and Australia, while Group D features Brazil, Germany, Ivory Coast and Saudi Arabia.
Group winners and runner-ups will automatically go through to a Quarter-final, with the finals set to be held on Saturday August 7th.
Official draw for the Men's Olympic Football Tournament. #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/ll8bkXuAUH
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) April 21, 2021
The Women's bracket has no age restriction, therefore will be as close to full-strength as a competition gets. Defending champions Germany failed to qualify for the 2020 Olympics.
World Cup semi-finalists Netherlands, Sweden, USA and England will all automatically feature. England will don the Team GB moniker as they were the highest seeded British nation going into the tournament.
Three groups of four teams will decide the competition, with seeds determined by FIFA's Women's World Rankings. The groups are labelled E, F and G to avoid confusion.
Group E features hosts Japan alongside Great Britain, Canada and Chile. Group F sees China, Brazil , Zambia and the Netherlands playing each other, while Group G consists of Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.
One week to go until the @Olympics women's football tournament begins 🙌
44 #BarclaysFAWSL players will be competing for gold at #Tokyo2020! pic.twitter.com/XguDrwdZ9P— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) July 14, 2021
Who are some of the more notable names at Tokyo 2020?
In the Women's competition, Team GB will feature many WSL standouts like Fran Kirby and Lucy Bronze. USA's Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, Yuzuho Shiokoshi of Japan and Brazilian Bruna Benites are other standouts.
For the men - most of the overage players selected are more recognisable. France have selected Tigres duo Andre-Pierre Gignac and Florian Thauvin in their squad. Burnley striker Chris Wood and West Ham defender Winston Reid are both named in the New Zealand squad.
The Spanish squad will feature six Euro 2020 names - Pedri, Eric Garcia, Dani Olmo, Unai Simon, Mikel Oyarzabal and Pau Torres. Dani Alves, Richarlison and Martinelli are some of the more recognisable names in the Brazil squad.
Notable absentees include Mohamed Salah and Heung Min Son from Egypt and South Korea's final rosters.
See Also: No Sex, No Booze And No Welcome - Tokyo's Strict 2020 Olympic Protocols
