Men's soccer at the 2024 Olympics will take place in the quarter-finals on the evening of August 2 and early morning of August 3 (Vietnam time), including the match between U23 Japan and U23 Spain.
In the group stage, Japan U23 was 1 of 2 teams with all wins and also 1 of 2 teams that won tickets to continue after only 2 matches. The Asian representative is the only team that uses an entire squad of players under 23 years old, not taking advantage of the right to register 3 over-age factors.
However, their performance in France made a strong impression with 9 complete points, scoring 7 goals against Paraguay U23, Mali U23 and Israel U23 teams in Group D without conceding any goals.
Meanwhile, Spain U23 in Group C soon has a ticket to continue after 2 wins against U23 Uzbekistan and U23 Dominican Republic. Having early tickets, many key players were given a rest in the final round, Spain U23 only needed a draw to top the group.
However, they suddenly lost 1-2 to U23 Egypt and also lost first place, so they entered the quarterfinals with second place in the group, meeting U23 Japan.
Of course, don't underestimate the strength of the EURO 2024 champion's juniors because of that loss. They will return to their best when entering the knockout round.
In the group stage, Spain U23 had 6 goals but also conceded 4 times. The uplifting and adventurous style of play may cause trouble with the speedy and technical Japanese U23.
Head-to-head statistics show balance in terms of results. Accordingly, the two teams have met each other 4 times, with each team winning 1 and the remaining 2 matches having a draw. There were 3 meetings at the Olympics.
The first time they met was a long time ago - in 1968, the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
It wasn't until the 2012 Olympics in London that the two teams met again with a 1-0 victory for U23 Japan. That was the match in which Inigo Martinez - the current Barcelona midfielder, received a red card at the end of the first half.
Another 9 years for the next Olympic meet. On Japan U23's home field, two teams faced off in the semi-finals.
Spain U23 won 1-0 with a goal in the 115th minute of extra time from Marco Asensio - former Real Madrid star currently playing for Paris St Germain, but then lost to Brazil U23 in the final.
Before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the two teams had a friendly match with a draw of 1-1.
