The draw was Sunday:

Group A: Ivory Coast, Serbia, Argentina, Australia.

Group B: Netherlands, United States, Nigeria, Japan.

Group C: China, Belgium, New Zealand, Brazil.

Group D: South Korea, Italy, Cameroon, Honduras.


I guess it depends on who is allowed to play.. I would put my money on a full strength Netherlands squad.. Isn't this the one tournament Brazil hasn't won yet? They should have it pretty easy in their group.

As an Australian, I'd have to say we are well and truly fucked.
Interesting to have Argentina, Ivory Coast and Serbia together again, like in the WC.

Is there an overlap between the tournament and the European seasons? I read somewhere that Argentina would likely use Mascherano as an overage player.

Interesting draw. It may not be that easy for Brazil, as the home support for China is going to be insane and this is one level that Belgium are quite good at. Italy, on the other hand, looks to have a genuinely easy group.

There has been a reasonable amount of speculation over who the Azzurri's overage players will be (and even whether they will take any). Pippo Inzaghi has been lobbying for a place for months now. I confess to not knowing when the squads have to be announced.

The games run between August 6th - 23rd.. So no overlap with Euro 2008, but with the start of the League seasons.

There has been talk of Brian McBride playing for the US. I can only see this happen if he leaves Fulham for the MLS after this year..

Rory, yes there's an overlap with the European season - the tournament being, of course, played at the same time as the rest of the Olympic Games.

Argentina's three over-age players will be Javier Mascherano, Juan Román Riquelme and Martín Demichelis.

Argentina's full squad list here.

Thanks Sam. I was too lazy to look up the dates of the Olympics.
I notice Messi's not being used, but they are three shrewd choices of overage player.

Rory, I don't think we are well and truly stuffed....We were in a group in Athens last olympics with Argentina and Serbia, and still scraped into the quarter finals...

Nothing is very certain in olympic football.. often depends on who is using what overage players, if any. And that often isn't known until the last minute. And, even then, overage big name players do not alway mean success.

UA, why are Belgium good at this level? I can't remember them ever playing in an olympic finals tournament before.....

..... And it looks like our wayward olyroo goalkeeper Danny Vukavic has had his suspension reduced so that he can play in Beijing.

That should give us a boost...

Trimster, what I was trying to say in that Belgium's U-21 team is significantly more competitive than their "senior" team. They won their qualifying group (featuring Ireland and Greece) without a loss, then beat Bulgaria in a playoff, and made it to Beijing by finishing second in a finals group that included Portugal.

The year before, they won a qualifying group that featured both Spain and Serbia (who are also going to Beijing).

I can't help thinking of the whole UK team question, when the Olympics are mentioned.

In the past getting all 4 FAs to agree to this calling has been nigh on impossible. The FA are normally for it, but i believe the Scottish FA is normally most against the idea.

This is mainly due to the fact that a UK team would basically be the England team with the odd other player thrown in. For example, at previous Games Ryan Giggs certainly would have made the squad.

However with London winning the Games, the other FAs are considering this much more openly and it would be nice too see it happen. Even if it was only for this one occasion.

Sounds promising for Belgium, but success in the European U21 championship has never translated itself into success in the olympic tournament... whose last three winners have been Argentina, Cameroon and Nigeria.

On the subject of a British team for 2012- it would be nice to see one, but there has always been so much downright hostility towards the idea, on this forum and elsewhere, that you wonder whether it would be a worthwhile excercise.....

Harbinger, the reason why the Scottish and Welsh FA's have always opposed the plan has little to do with the make-up of the team, and much more to do with a (in my opinion, largely groundless) fear that the entering of a united team would undermine their right to take part as independent countries, rather than part of the UK in other tournaments.

Messi has just been cleared to play for Argentina.

Is it true Kaka will be suiting up for Brazil?

Milan without Kaka and Barca without Messi could both struggle in their Champions League qualifiers...

There hasn't been any definitive word on Kaka, and Milan have generally been making discouraging noises.

Of course, if the football gods are kind, the question of Milan's Champions League qualifiers will be moot.

And if Barca can't beat Artmedia Bratislava (or a reasonable equivalent) without Leo, we don't deserve to make the group stages.