The Olyroos pulled off a surprise upset over two-time Olympic gold medallists Argentina with a 2-0 win at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
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Australia pulled off a surprise upset over two-time Olympic gold medallists Argentina in the opening round of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, recording a 2-0 win. The nation was earlier announced as hosts for the 2032 Olympics with the Matildas winning their opening group match against New Zealand on Wednesday night. The Australian men’s team put the cherry on top in a 2-0 win over Argentina at Sapporo Dome, marking a trifecta of celebrations.
The opening goal came through Lachlan Wales in the first half. Marco Tilio doubled the lead moments after coming off the bench late into the match, marking a mammoth three points.
“We always believed in what we wanted to achieve. We always believed in Arnie’s [head coach Graham Arnold] philosophy. It’s a dream come true for all the boys, it’s one game, but hopefully, we can get another win against Spain. Tonight, we shocked the world, and hopefully, we can keep shocking the world as we move on through the tournament,” said Wales in an interaction with Channel 7 after the match.
It had been 4,726 days since Australia last made an appearance in the men’s football tournament at the Olympic Games in the group stages at Beijing 2008. The national team certainly made a grand comeback, with the win putting them at the top of Group C. They will now take on Spain, who were held to a goalless draw by Egypt in their opening match of the Tokyo 2020 football tournament.
Richarlison scored a hat-trick in the first half for Brazil, as the South Americans opened their account with a 4-2 win over Germany. The game was a replay of the Rio 2016 final, and seemed fairly one-sided after the Everton attacker’s heroics in the first 30 minutes. A late fightback from a German side who were reduced to ten men created drama in the final minutes of the match. However, a late goal from Paulinho marked the conclusion of an exciting encounter.
Brazil will look to cement their Group D dominance against African competitors Cote d’Ivoire. The Germans, for their part, will be desperate to get back on track when they take on Saudi Arabia.
Hosts Japan are further off to a winning start, defeating South Africa 1-0. Kubo Takefusa broke the deadlock midway through the second half, helping his team edge the African visitors. There was another upset on show as Mexico came out flying in the second half to kick off their Olympic campaign with a 4-1 win over France. Alexis Vega scored the first of four second-half goals, before Sebastian Cordova added a second in the 55th. Andre-Pierre Gignac narrowed the gap for France with a penalty, but Eduardo Aguirre added a goal in stoppage time for El Tri.
Japan maintained their winning streak in softball, with a 3-2 win over Mexico. Australia and United States further recorded wins against Italy and Canada respectively by 1-0 margins. Canada registered a 4-0 win against Mexico, to round off the softball fixtures on the day.
