Is Argentina a favorite?
Argentina, of course, will be the favorites in any big tournament. And if we are talking about the Olympics, then even more so. Because for 20 years now, the victorious inertia from Argentina’s successes at two Olympic Games in a row has been stretching: the Albiceleste won both the Olympics 2004 and 2008.
It is symbolic that the coach of the current Olympic gang of Argentines is Javier Mascherano. The brilliant midfielder won the Games in both Greece and China. Don’t miss the chance to bet on Argentina and read football predictions today online.
In the composition of the Olympic teams, jokers always attract attention – older football players who do not fit into the limit. So in Argentina, these are the expected status figures. Not Messi or Lautaro, but still. Goalkeeper Jeronimo Rulli, defender Nicolas Otamendi and striker Alvarez have World Championship medals and are just emerging winners of the 2024 Copa América (even though Rulli didn’t play a minute in either).
But the Argentine land is fertile in talent! The main stars of the Olympic team are not the invited champions, but the young and early 23-year-old midfielder Thiago Almada and forward Luciano Gondu. The Argentines of this squad did the main job of qualifying (CONMEBOL holds a separate tournament for this) in the victory against Brazil 1:0 (Gonda scored) and left the Olympics without the winner of the last two forums in Rio and Tokyo.
Does Ukraine have a chance?
The Ukrainian national team has never qualified for the final part of the Olympics before, but now the “yellow-blues” have made a real breakthrough. In 2023, they achieved success at the U21 European Championship, where they had an excellent competition, reaching the semi-finals, where they were defeated by the Spanish team by 1:5. However, this was enough for bronze medals and a trip to France.
In fact, all the players called up by Rotan are playing in the Ukrainian championship. In particular, Donetsk “Shakhtar” delegated four football players, and Kyiv “Dynamo” and Lviv “Rukh” delegated three each. The captain of the team was Danylo Sikan, the forward of Donetsk “Shakhtar”. The teammate of the striker, Dmytro Kryskiv and the previously mentioned Taloverov were included in the team outside the age limit.
This team still lacks stability. Much has been said about the clubs not wanting to let their leaders go to the Olympics, but unfortunately, this can no longer be changed. The coaching staff should work with the players that are available. Ruslan Rotan has a number of players who can perform well at the Games in France. First, it is worth noting Kryskiv, Taloverov, Sikan and Rubchinskiy. It is worth noting that none of the leaders of the team that thundered at the youth Euro went to the tournament.
Match prediction
The level of football development in Argentina is significantly higher than in Ukraine. Of course, the blue and white Olympic team cannot be compared with the main national team. The Argentina Olympic team has not lost at the official level for nine matches (4 wins and 5 draws). The South Americans have also opened the scoring in 5 of the last 6 official meetings, so the bet is: Argentina wins, and the total is less than 3.5 goals.
