The Paris 2024 Olympics football tournament continue for the men on Saturday when the second set of group games take place across the whole of France as spots in the knockout stages of the event are up for grabs for some teams.
Those who won their opening match on Wednesday can all but secure a last eight spot on Saturday while those who lost their first game will need to come out firing on what should be a decent day of football across four different kick off times.
Group A
We have to wait until the last two kick off times for the action in Group A to come along where it is a big evening for the United States if they want to keep their medal chances alive. They go up against New Zealand knowing that they can’t afford to lose but with the Kiwis having won their opening match, USA probably need a win here. Any positive result has the outsiders in control of their own destiny going into the final games. The host nation France could secure qualification on Saturday night when they host a Guinea side who have to win to keep their campaign alive.
Group B
There was no shortage of drama in group B on Wednesday and more of the same is likely on Saturday. Argentina were involved in a controversial first game against Morocco which they lost so they start the Saturday action knowing that they can’t afford to lose when they take on an Iraq team who beat Ukraine and who will be through to the quarter finals with another win here. Morocco will look to back up their win over Argentina in the first game when they take on a Ukraine side who can’t afford to lose when they compete in the second kick off slot of the day.
Group C
Spain were not as convincing as they would have wanted to be in their opening game against Uzbekistan on Wednesday but they did manage to get the job done and they will be looking to be a lot more fluent against a Dominican Republic outfit who were expected to be out of their depth at these Olympics but who to their credit picked up a draw with Egypt to start their campaign. Egypt will look to make up for that when they face an Uzbekistan side who were probably worthy of more than they actually got against the Spanish in matchday one.
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Group D
This was expected to be the tightest of the four groups going into the competition but nobody told the Japan team that as they gave their hopes of qualifying a huge boost with a 5-0 win over Paraguay in their first game. We have to wait until the last kick off slot to see them in action on Saturday but if they beat Mali in it then they will be through with a match to spare. The other game sees Paraguay looking to bounce back from that defeat to Japan. If they are to keep their campaign alive they have to beat Israel, who themselves will be in good position to make it through if they come out on top.
Betting
I like a couple of bets over the course of the Saturday action with the first of them coming in the shape of a Paraguay side who I think are much better than what we saw in their opening match. They were pretty much done and dusted after 25 minutes when they went down to 10 men and Japan took full advantage of that ruthlessly. Back to 11 from the off here I still think there is juice in Paraguay, who were my outright pick for this tournament, against an Israel side that I wasn’t massive impressed with in their opening game against Guinea. They registered an xG total of less than one and needed an own goal to get a point out of Mali. Paraguay have to go for it here because a draw is no use to them with a -5 goal difference and I expect them to get the job done but given the short turnarounds and things I’ll play the South Americans on the draw no bet Asian line.
It took France a while to get going against America on Wednesday but some of that was down to how well the Americans played in that match, however when France did get up to speed they soon pulled away and I think they could be involved in a high scoring game against a Guinea team whose defence could be in big trouble if they defend like they did in their first match here. New Zealand scored twice against them, missed a penalty and had a whole host of chances that if France get here would spell danger, but this Guinea team offered plenty going forward so I’m expecting an entertaining match here. While France beat USA 3-0, they rode their luck a bit as USA hit the woodwork twice and the French keeper Guillaume Restes made a stunning save too. These two looked much better going forward than they did defending in the opening game and with Guinea needing something from this match that makes me think that over 2.75 goals is a good thing here.
Tips
Back Paraguay (0AH) to beat Israel for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Bet365
Back France vs Guinea – Over 2.75 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
