Every four years, some of soccer’s greatest athletes entertain fans on the world’s biggest stage. This year the National Peanut Board and The18 are teaming up to raise America’s favorite sandwich, the PB&J, to our favorite things about the Games.
Here are five things we can’t wait to experience this summer as the tournament kicks off in Japan.
CAPE TOWN - South Africa’s soccer team coach David Notoane said his side were caught in the eye of a coronavirus storm and likened their situation to waiting for a guillotine to fall ahead of their Tokyo Olympic Games opener against hosts Japan on Thursday.
The squad was severely depleted by COVID-19 infections and withdrawals before they left South Africa, and has now faced further setbacks after players Thabiso Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi, along with video analyst Mario Masha, tested positive for the virus on arrival in Tokyo.
Japan's men's captain Maya Yoshida has questioned the decision to hold the Olympic Games behind closed doors, calling on authorities to reconsider the spectator ban before the football tournaments begin on Wednesday.
Fans will be absent from the Games as coronavirus infections continue to climb in Japan, even though fans are allowed to attend other sporting contests within the country.
The German men's Olympic soccer team left the pitch five minutes before the end of their warm-up game against Honduras in Wakayama, Japan on Saturday after defender Jordan Torunarigha was allegedly racially abused.
We stand with you Jordan Torunarigha. https://t.co/AWAD7bII7l
El miércoles 21 de julio comienza el fútbol en Tokio 2020 y el partido inaugural será entre Gran Bretaña y Chile, la selección femenina que te invitamos a adoptar durante los Juegos Olímpicos.
Sin el Tri Femenil en competencia, es fácil mirar para el lado y arrimarse al exitoso equipo de Estados Unidos. La vía Brasil tampoco es descabellada, pero se siente un poco cliché. Chile, en cambio, ofrece la recompensa emocional que solo un underdog, un equipo que tiene todo para perder, puede dar.
Riding a 44-match unbeaten streak, the USWNT arrived in Japan on July 7 to begin its final preparations for Tokyo 2020. We’re now just seven days away from the team’s opening game against Sweden on July 21 (4:30 a.m. ET kick-off), and the squad has been putting in work at its base in Miyazaki.
☔️ or ☀️
on our grind. pic.twitter.com/ATlUwkSxUR— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) July 13, 2021
When it comes to the Summer Games, you can’t go wrong watching any event. They are all the ultimate culmination of dedication, sacrifice and mastery, amplified by the impossibly high stakes of a quadrennial competition. But some events captivate more than others with their sense of drama and skill — not that race walking doesn’t have those elements.
According to a recent study of my brain performed by me, these are the best events at Tokyo 2020 based on how much I found myself yelling at the television during Rio 2016.
New Zealand’s Olympic soccer preparations were handed a blow a couple weeks before the tournament kicks off, and Football Ferns coach Tom Sermanni is not happy about it. Team captain Ali Riley and defensive star Abby Erceg were not allowed to join up with their national team until after this weekend’s NWSL games, leading Sermanni to excoriate the Orlando Pride and N.C. Courage.
Have you ever turned on men's soccer at the Olympics and wondered, "who the heck are these guys?" The two sides on the field usually consist of a few players you might have heard of before, along with a bunch of nobodies. Unlike other international tournaments like the World Cup or Copa América, only certain players are eligible to play because of a Olmypic soccer age limit — which FIFA put in place to delineate the Olympic tournament from the World Cup.
Alex Morgan will have a little extra motivation to win gold at this summer’s Tokyo Olympics. After publicly questioning the IOC over whether she would be allowed to bring her young child with her to the Games, the USWNT superstar posted a gut-wrenching farewell to young Charlie Elena Carrasco, vowing to make their absence “worth it.”
Morgan made the trip to Japan with her USWNT teammates this week, leaving behind her 14-month-old baby to go for her second Olympic gold medal. On Thursday, Morgan said goodbye to her child on Instagram.