France’s Olympic men’s soccer campaign got off to a disastrous 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. Sylvain Ripoll’s France, chasing a first Olympic medal since winning gold in 1984, collapsed in the second half when Alexis Vega, Sebastian Cordova, Uriel Antuna and Erick Aguirre found the net for Mexico at the Tokyo Stadium. France now face a daunting task to qualify from Group A with a top-two finish, ahead of games against South Africa on Sunday and hosts Japan. Along with Euro 2020 young player of tournament Pedri, Spain had five other players who featured in the senior team’s run to the semi-finals this month. Unlike the women’s tournament featuring all the senior players, the men’s teams are usually restricted to Under-23 sides, with three over-age players allowed per team.

Source: The Star July 22, 2021 12:56 UTC