Football at Tokyo Olympics: Know the teams, groups, format and where to watch live in India

From Lionel Messi and Neymar to Samuel Eto’o and Pep Guardiola, football at the Olympics has seen some of the biggest names in the world win gold medals for their nation. 

The sport has been a part of the Olympics since its debut in 1900 and will be contested for the 28th time at Tokyo 2020.

Brazil are the men’s defending champions while Germany were the Rio 2016 gold medallists in the women’s event. However, the Germans have failed to qualify for Tokyo and won’t be defending their title.

The first football match is scheduled on July 21 - two days before the official opening ceremony.

Read | Indian football at the Olympics

Although Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah was omitted from Egypt’s football squad, a number of other big names are set to be a part of the mega event.

Brazilian legend Dani Alves will be one of the most decorated stars to light up the fields in Japan. The 38-year-old will be accompanied by Richarlison from Everton and Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli.

The Spanish side features Real Madrid players Marco Asensio and Dani Ceballos and Barcelona midfielder Pedri.

Manchester United stars Amad Diallo, Eric Bailly are part of the Ivory Coast football team while New Zealand have Chris Wood of Burnley and Winston Reid from West Ham.

The host nation Japan will be bolstered by the presence of Real Madrid winger Takefusa Kubo.

The men’s football event kicks off on July 22 with a clash between Egypt and Spain while the women get going a day earlier, starting with Great Britain vs Chile.

Format of football, teams and groups at Tokyo Olympics

A total of 16 teams will be competing in the men’s event while 12 nations will feature in the women’s tournament.

The men’s sides are divided into four groups of four and the women’s in three groups of four.

Men’s football groups at Tokyo Olympics

Group A: Japan, South Africa, Mexico, France

Group B: New Zealand, South Korea, Honduras, Romania

Group C: Egypt, Spain, Argentina, Australia

Group D: Brazil, Germany, Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia

Women’s football groups at Tokyo Olympics

Group E: Japan, Canada, Great Britain, Chile

Group F: China, Brazil, Zambia, Netherlands

Group G: Sweden, USA, Australia, New Zealand

Each team plays the other sides in the group once in a round-robin format and the top two from each group advance to the quarter-final. For the women, the two best third-placed teams also advance to the knockout rounds.

From here, the losers are eliminated and the winners move to the next round. The final two teams will play the gold medal match while the losing semi-finalists face off for the bronze medal.

Age restriction rules for footballers at Tokyo Olympics

Men’s football at the Summer Games is usually contested by Under-23 players, with an option to include three over-aged players in every squad.

However, Tokyo Olympics will be an Under-24 tournament after the International Olympic Association (IOC) relaxed the age cut-off due to the postponement of the Summer Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The women’s event, however, has no age restrictions.

Venues for football at Tokyo Olympics

Along with the Olympic Stadium and Tokyo Stadium in Tokyo, five other venues in as many cities will be used to host the football matches.

Miyagi Stadium, Ibaraki Kashima Stadium, Saitama Stadium, Sapporo Dome and International Stadium Yokohama will be hosting matches.

The men’s gold medal match will be held at the International Stadium Yokohama while the women’s summit clash will take place at the Olympic Stadium.

Tokyo Olympics football fixtures, schedule and live India start times

All times are India Standard Time (IST)

Men’s football schedule

Thursday, July 22

Group C: Egypt vs Spain - 1:00 PM IST

Group A: Mexico vs France - 1:30 PM IST

Group B: New Zealand vs South Korea - 1:30 PM IST

Group D: Ivory Coast vs Saudi Arabia - 2:00 PM IST

Group C: Argentina vs Australia - 4:00 PM IST

Group A: Japan vs South Africa - 4:30 PM IST

Group B: Honduras vs Romania - 4:30 PM IST

Group D: Brazil vs Germany - 5:00 PM IST

Sunday, July 25

Group C: Egypt vs Argentina - 1:00 PM IST

Group A: France vs South Africa - 1:30 PM IST

Group B: New Zealand vs Honduras - 1:30 PM IST

Group D: Brazil vs Ivory Coast - 2:00 PM IST

Group C: Australia vs Spain - 4:00 PM IST

Group A: Japan vs Mexico - 4:30 PM IST

Group B: Romania vs South Korea - 4:30 PM IST

Group D: Saudi Arabia vs Germany - 5:00 PM IST

Wednesday, July 28

Group D: Saudi Arabia vs Brazil - 1:30 PM IST

Group D: Germany vs Ivory Coast - 1:30 PM IST

Group B: Romania vs New Zealand - 2:00 PM IST

Group B: South Korea vs Honduras - 2:00 PM IST

Group C: Australia vs Egypt - 4:30 PM IST

Group C: Spain vs Argentina - 4:30 PM IST

Group A: France vs Japan - 5:00 PM IST

Group A: South Africa vs Mexico - 5:00 PM IST

Saturday, July 31

Quarter-final 1 - 1:30 PM IST

Quarter-final 2 - 2:30 PM IST

Quarter-final 3 - 3:30 PM IST

Quarter-final 4 - 4:30 PM IST

Tuesday, August 3

Semi-final 1 - 1:30 PM IST

Semi-final 2 - 4:30 PM IST

Friday, August 6

Olympics football bronze medal match - 4:30 PM IST

Saturday, August 7

Olympics football gold medal match - 5:00 PM IST

Women’s football schedule

Wednesday, July 21

Group E: Great Britain vs Chile - 1:00 PM IST

Group F: China vs Brazil - 1:30 PM IST

Group G: Sweden vs USA - 2:00 PM IST

Group E: Japan vs Canada - 4:00 PM IST

Group F: Zambia vs Netherlands - 4:30 PM IST

Group G: Australia vs New Zealand - 5:00 PM IST

Saturday, July 24

Group E: Chile vs Canada - 1:00 PM IST

Group F: China vs Zambia - 1:30 PM IST

Group G: Sweden vs Australia - 2:00 PM IST

Group E: Japan vs Great Britain - 4:00 PM IST

Group F: Netherlands vs Brazil - 4:30 PM IST

Group G: New Zealand vs USA - 5:00 PM IST

Tuesday, July 27

Group G: New Zealand vs Sweden - 1:30 PM IST

Group G: USA vs Australia - 1:30 PM IST

Group E: Chile vs Japan - 4:30 PM IST

Group E: Canada vs Great Britain - 4:30 PM IST

Group F: Netherlands vs China- 5:00 PM IST

Group F: Brazil vs Zambia - 5:00 PM IST

Friday, July 30

Quarter-final 1 - 1:30 PM IST

Quarter-final 2 - 2:30 PM IST

Quarter-final 3 - 3:30 PM IST

Quarter-final 4 - 4:30 PM IST

Monday, August 2

Semi-final 1 - 1:30 PM IST

Semi-final 2 - 4:30 PM IST

Thursday, August 5

Olympics football bronze medal match - 1:30 PM IST

Friday, August 6

Olympics football gold medal match - 7:30 AM IST

Where to watch football at Tokyo 2020 Olympics live in India?

Fans can watch live telecast of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with English commentary on the Sony TEN 2, Sony TEN 2 HD, Sony Six and Sony SIX HD TV channels in India. Sony TEN 3, Sony TEN 3 HD, Sony TEN 4 and Sony TEN 4 HD will broadcast Tokyo 2020 in regional languages. 

Live streaming of the Tokyo Olympics will be available on Sony Liv.

B__roadcast timings subject to Sony.