The Men’s Olympic Football tournament semi-finals take place on Tuesday and, aside from Brazil, there are some surprise countries in the last four with South Korea, Mexico and Japan all still in the hunt for the Gold medal.
Brazil are understandably the favourites for Gold (2/5) in what has often been a surprising Olympic Football tournament so far but they may not have it all their own way against a talented South Korea (9/1 to win Gold) side at Old Trafford.
In the other semi-final, Japan meet Mexico at Wembley with seemingly little to choose between the sides.
Brazil v South Korea
Brazil were tipped to win gold before the tournament got underway and remain firmly in the driving seat to achieve that feat ahead of the semi-final against South Korea.
They have impressed so far in the competition, although some games have been closer than many would have anticipated.
Brazil kicked off with a closely-fought 3-2 victory over Egypt before a more comfortable 3-1 success over Belarus and followed that up with a final 3-0 group win against New Zealand.
The talent in the Samba squad is undeniable with Chelsea new boy Oscar, Manchester United target Lucas Moura and established stars Neymar, Hulk and Alexandre Pato all contributing so far.
Goals have clearly not been a problem but they survived a big scare when just about overcoming nine-man Honduras 3-2 in the quarter-final and may be vulnerable at the back.
Not too many people are giving the Koreans a chance in this clash (Brazil 4/11, S Korea 13/2, draw 3/1 – 90 mins match prices) but they have shown plenty so far to suggest they can at least worry Brazil at Old Trafford.
Their victory over Team GB on penalties ended Stuart Pearce’s side’s involvement but, on the balance of play, they were the better team over the 120 minutes in Cardiff and possess plenty of talent in their squad.
Chu-Young Park and Bo-Kyung Kim are among several players to have caught the eye so far and they look a fit, organised and close-knit side who can handle the big occasion. A group win over Switzerland, sandwiched between draws against Mexico and Gabon, sealed their place in the knockout phase and they can approach the Brazil clash with nothing to lose as they are expected to be knocked out.
With that in mind, a draw at 3/1 after 90 minutes to take this game to extra time might not be a bad bet but expect Brazil to progress overall.
Japan v Mexico
Wembley hosts the other semi and totesport cannot separate Japan and Mexico in the 90 minute match market with both sides on offer at 6/4 to win while the draw after normal time is 11/5.
Mexico may be the more established football nation but at this largely Under-23 level, Japan have shown they are a country to be feared in the future with plenty of rising stars in their ranks.
Their shock 1-0 win over much-fancied Spain set the tone for the competition and they followed that up with a similar success over Morocco before holding an impressive Honduras to a goalless draw.
Despite being relatively unknown to much of the footballing world, Japan clearly have some top players with Maya Yoshida and Yuki Otsu among those to catch the eye. Their stunning 3-0, last-eight, win over Egypt means Mexico should be wary of what awaits them on Tuesday.
However, the Mexicans have been among the best performers in the competition so far and disposed of Senegal 4-2 in the quarter-final to lay down a marker for this last-four clash.
Spurs forward Giovani dos Santos has been one of their star men, scoring both goals in the 2-0 group win over Gabon and then the third against Senegal and he will again have to play well if they are to see off Japan.
They have other key men Japan will need to watch with the likes of Jorge Enriquez and Javier Aquino threats but, as the match odds suggest, this is tough one to call.
It could also go to extra time, and even penalties, with Japan tipped to just have the edge.
