Group A:
Uruguay 2 United Arab Emirates 1 and Great Britain 1 Senegal 1.
• Uruguay had a tougher than expected time with Asian entry UAE. They sealed the win in the second half with a great strike from sub Nicolas Lodeiro. Luis Suarez was booed everytime he touched the ball by the English fans. Uruguay’s offense was solid however they did look shaky at times in defense.
• A disappointing opening result for the host country. GB scored first on a scorcher from Craig Bellamy that went into the corner. Senegal had better endurance and equalized late through Moussa Konate. GB’s squad lacked bite on offense and manager Stuart Pearce will regret not getting attacker Scott Sinclair in the game.
Group B:
Mexico 0 South Korea 0 and Gabon 1 Switzerland 1.
• Even though it was a scoreless draw Mexico and Korea played an exciting up-tempo match. Marco Fabian and Gio Dos Santos combined for a few nice plays in the second half. Korea also had opportunities and should be encouraged by their opening match.
• Admir Mehmedi struck from the penalty spot five minutes into the match but Pierre Emrick-Aubameyang matched it in the 45th minute. This group could be the most competitive in the tournament.
Group C:
Brazil 3 Egypt 2 and Belarus 1 New Zealand 0
• No surprise that the Brazilians got off to a hot start. Rafael struck first while Leandro Daimao and Neymar added first-half goals. Egypt battled back from a 3-0 deficit and cut it to 3-2 behind goals from Mohamed Aboutrika and Mohamed Salah. It was a spirited effort that fell just short. It was three points for Brazil but fans should be concerned with their second-half defending.
• Belarus and New Zealand played a mostly uneventful first match. Midfielder Dmitry Baga scored off a corner kick late in the first-half and that’s all his team needed. Belarus was the better side and forced New Zealand goalie Michael O-Keeffe into seven saves.
Group D:
Japan 1 Spain 0 and Honduras 2 Morocco 2
• It was a shock start for Spain. Japan’s relentless pressure forced Spain into numerous mistakes. Yuki Otsu scored when a corner kick fell to his feet. Later in the first-half Ingio Martinez was given a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity. Japan’s win marked a great day for Asian sides. Spain has to go back to drawing board now.
• The opening match of the Olympic tournament had three second-half goals. Jerry Bengtson scored twice for Honduras while Abdelaziz Barrada and Zakaria Labyad scored for Morocco. Honduras tried hard for a third goal after Morocco’s Zakara Bergdich was shown a red card in the 72nd minute.