Mexico and France will kick off their men’s Olympic football tournament on Thursday in Tokyo. The U23 teams are seeking Olympic gold and to catch the eyes of the senior national team coaches.
El Tri go into the Olympic football tournament on a great run of form. Coach Jaime Lozano’s team are unbeaten in eight straight matches with six of those games ending in wins.
#Olympic | We are less than 2️⃣ days to start our journey in 🇯🇵. 🔜🇲🇽🆚🇫🇷Come on, guys!! 💪🏼🙌🏻🤩#PasiónyOrgullo | #FMFporNuestroFútbol pic.twitter.com/oRZyOWHYOj— Mexican National Team (@miseleccionmxEN) July 21, 2021
#Olympic | We are less than 2️⃣ days to start our journey in 🇯🇵. 🔜🇲🇽🆚🇫🇷Come on, guys!! 💪🏼🙌🏻🤩#PasiónyOrgullo | #FMFporNuestroFútbol pic.twitter.com/oRZyOWHYOj
France coach Sylvain Ripoll will hope to do better at the Olympics with the U23 team than what Didier Deschamps’ senior team did at the European Championships. France have one of the world’s best youth setups and are one of the favourites to win the tournament.
The French are third-favourite according to leading sportsbooks to win the Olympic tournament outright. France are at odds of 6/1 to win gold.
Mexico shocked the football world by winning gold at the 2012 Summer Games in London. Lozano’s team may have a more difficult time this summer at winning gold. However, unlike the senior side, Mexico’s youth teams continue to do well at the international tournament level.
El Tri have played three times in the summer claiming wins over Romania and Australia, along with a draw versus Saudi Arabia. The squad is made up mostly of players competing in the Mexican domestic league. Just one player, Diego Lainz, plays outside of the country with Spain’s Real Betis.
Lozano has selected Club America goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, Cruz Azul’s Luis Romo, and Club America’s Henry Martin as the three overaged players.
Ripoll has selected an interesting trio of overaged players for the French team. Striker Andre-Pierre Gignac and Florian Thauvin were both picked for the team. The two players play for Mexican club Tigres.
Gignac has played in Mexico since 2015 with Tigres and is one of the club’s all-time leading scorers. The striker has scored 149 goals in 261 games for Tigres. Gignac has failed to score 20 goals just once in six seasons in Mexico. That one season saw the Frenchman score 19 times.
France’s midfield will be anchored by Hertha Berlin’s Lucas Tousart and Rennes youngster Eduardo Camavinga. The latter is one of the most wanted players in world football right now.
Despite France’s quality, Mexico are just two Olympic tournaments removed from winning gold. The Mexicans are very good at the U23 level and should start their campaign with an impressive win over the French.
Our prediction is for a close game with over 2.5 goals scored. The Mexicans will edge the French to claim a matchday 1 win.