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 !
⚽ La joya del @realmadrid, fue más rápido que los mexicanos y ya vence #JPN a #MEX #OlimpicosTelemundo
#Japón 1-0 #México pic.twitter.com/4OsXK8Rpc0— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) July 25, 2021
¡Japón no perdona y aumenta su ventaja !
César Montes comete penal y Doan no desperdicia para que #JPN ya tenga dos de ventaja sobre #MEX #OlimpicosTelemundo
#Japón 2-0 #México pic.twitter.com/SJhBHqI4R7— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) July 25, 2021
France, who were hammered 4-1 by Mexico in their Group A opener, got their campaign back on track when Téji Savanier netted a stoppage-time winner in their 4-3 victory over South Africa.
Les Bleus trailed 3-2 with 10 minutes left but captain André-Pierre Gignac converted an 86th-minute penalty to complete his hat-trick before Savanier's late goal. Gignac, one of the three over-age players selected by France along with the under-24 group for the Olympics, now leads the scoring charts in Tokyo with four goals from two matches.
Back-to-back defeats also left South Africa's hopes of qualifying hanging by a thread, a week after their camp reported multiple COVID-19 cases.
¡Oh là là Gignac!
Solo necesitó empujarla a las redes de Sudáfrica
⬇️ REVIVE su anotación en los #OlimpicosTelemundo#football #FRA #RSA pic.twitter.com/qw72P3rWra
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) July 25, 2021
¡¿QUIÉN MÁS SI NO GIGNAC?
@10APG se elevó por los aires y con un gran remate de cabeza anotaba su doblete con @equipedefrance⬇️ REVIVE su bonita anotación en los #OlimpicosTelemundo #JuegosOlimpicos #Tokyo2020 #Football #FRA #RSA pic.twitter.com/Jsh58463mX
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) July 25, 2021
¡ALGUIEN DETENGA A GIGNAC!
@10APG se encendió en los #OlimpicosTelemundo ante SudáfricaDesde los once pasos, cobró de manera magistral un penal a favor de @equipedefrance
⬇️ REVIVE su gol con el que firmaba su hat-trick#JuegosOlimpicos #tokyo2020 #football #FRA #RSA pic.twitter.com/pH868xRfwm
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) July 25, 2021
Defending champions Brazil banged in four goals in their opening victory over Germany in Group D but their attack failed to fire in a goalless draw against a resolute Ivory Coast side. The South American giants struggled to control the match after losing midfielder Douglas Luiz to a straight red card for denying Ivory Coast winger Max Gradel a clear goalscoring opportunity in the 13th minute.
Spain winger Mikel Oyarzabal ended his country's 21-year wait for an Olympic goal in a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Australia in Group C.
¡LLEGÓ EL PRIMERO DE ‘LA FURIA ROJA’ EN LOS #JuegosOlimpicos !
@mikel10oyar se puso la capa de héroe y como todo un capitán, le esta dando el triunfo a @SeFutbol #OlimpicosTelemundo #AUS 0-1 #ESP pic.twitter.com/3MoSyMV4Qp— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) July 25, 2021
Elsewhere, center back Felix Uduokhai pounced on a late header as Germany edged out Saudi Arabia 3-2 in a Group D thriller in Yokohama, with both teams combining for 32 attempts on goal.
South Korea also found their scoring boots in a 4-0 rout of Romania, with playmaker Lee Kang-in finding the net twice in the final six minutes of the match.
There was late drama in the Group B meeting at the Ibaraki Kashima Stadium in Tokyo as Honduras forward Rigoberto Rivas found the net with three minutes remaining to hand New Zealand a 3-2 defeat.
¡Grítalo Honduras ️!
⚽Rigoberto Rivas hace una gran jugada y @FenafuthOrg le da la vuelta al marcador para llevarse su primer triunfo en los #OlimpicosTelemundo pic.twitter.com/dZvYK4dnAe— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) July 25, 2021
Facundo Medina scored to help Argentina to their first three points in Group C with a 1-0 win over Egypt at the Sapporo Dome.
¡LLEGÓ EL PRIMER GOL DE LA ‘ALBICELESTE’!
La jugada surge de un tiro de esquina
La pelota pega en el poste y Facundo Medina atento y a tiempo define de manera magistral#OlimpicosTelemundo Egipto 0-1 Argentina #Tokyo2020 #juegosolimpicos #football #egy #ARG pic.twitter.com/GgzG6xvUhH— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) July 25, 2021
"This victory is very good for us, especially in terms of spirits," said Argentine coach Fernando Batista. "Now we have to rest and prepare for the best way to define the group against Spain."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar and Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond and Hugh Lawson)
