Youth Soccer

TOKYO - Hosts Japan moved within touching distance of qualifying for the men's soccer knockout stages with a 2-1 win over Mexico at Saitama Stadium on Sunday, while France staged a remarkable comeback to beat South Africa 4-3.

Real Madrid's highly rated youngster Takefusa Kubo and playmaker Ritsu Dōan found the net inside the opening 11 minutes as Japan notched up their second consecutive win to move top of Group A with six points.

¡Kubo sorprende a México !

Honduras snatched Concacaf’s final spot at the Olympics away from the USMNT in March. Four months later, Los Catrachos did the USMNT proud by dominating a game against Romania and still finding an incredible way to lose 1-0. I’m sure that USMNT players are punching the air while watching the Honduras vs Romania highlights.

Let me remind you why the USMNT isn’t at the Olympics.

YOKOHAMA, Japan - Brazil striker Richarlison struck a stunning hat-trick inside 30 minutes as the defending Olympic champions beat Germany 4-2 in their opening Group D game in the men's tournament at the International Stadium on Thursday.

Brazil should have had the outcome decided by the interval given the amount of chances they created but Germany struck twice in the second half, despite going down to 10 men in the 63rd minute.

TOKYO - France's Olympic men's soccer campaign got off to a dreadful start when they were thrashed 4-1 by Mexico while Argentina suffered a shock 2-0 loss to Australia as the group stage kicked off on Thursday.

Brazil striker Richarlison scored the first hat-trick of the men's tournament as the defending champions held off a late rally from Germany in a 4-2 win at Yokohama's International Stadium.

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.

LEEDS, England - When you think of addiction, the first things that come to mind are gambling, alcohol and drug abuse.

Footballers down the ages have not been immune to falling into either of those vice's grips — some of the best players to have ever graced the pitch, George Best, Diego Maradona and Paul Gascoigne to name but a few.

But there is one addiction, previously seen as a harmless bit of fun, that is becoming a serious issue among professional footballers, of all levels — a compulsion to play computer games.

When it comes to Olympic soccer, Americans generally know the women’s team is going to compete for gold. The USWNT has won four golds and one silver in six prior tournaments. The U.S. men are a totally different story, resulting in American soccer fans asking themselves every four years: Is USMNT in Olympics?

The U.S. women's soccer team is determined to make up for its quarterfinal exit in Rio and reassert their dominance at the Tokyo Olympics, while Brazil will aim to repeat as champion in the men's event after ending its long wait for gold in 2016.

The United States has won four of the six gold medals since a women's tournament was introduced to the Olympic programme at the Atlanta Games in 1996 and as current world champion it starts as clear favorite again.