Men's Olympic football winner odds and outright predictions: Back Brazil

Tournament predictions, outright odds and betting tips for the men's Olympic Football which starts on Thursday July 22.

Where to watch

BBC, 8.30am Thursday

Best bet

Brazil
1pt 3-1 bet365, Betfred

Tournament preview

Brazil were thwarted by Argentina in the final of this summer's Copa America, but they can quickly make amends by landing back-to-back Olympic titles in Japan.

Brazil finally got their hands on Olympic football gold on home soil in Rio five years ago courtesy of a penalty-shootout success over Germany at a packed Maracana.

There will be no Neymar to spearhead the Brazilian bid in Japan after PSG blocked his participation, but Andre Jardine still has a strong squad to choose from.

Matheus Cunha had an excellent season in the Bundesliga with Hertha Berlin last term and the forward finished as top scorer in the 2019 Toulon Tournament and the 2020 Conmebol pre-Olympic Tournament.

The Hertha man has scored 16 goals in 18 appearances at under-23 international level and he looks likely to play a major part in any Brazilian success.

Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli and Everton's Richarlison are just two other members of a typically powerful forward unit and Ajax's Antony could cause defenders plenty of problems with his pace and trickery on the right wing.

There's plenty of quality in midfield, too, in the form of Reinier, Bruno Guimaraes and Matheus Henrique, and Jardine looks to have addressed the one potential area of weakness with his over-23 selections.

Athletico Paranaense keeper Santos and Sevilla centre-back Diego Carlos got the nod alongside the leadership and trophy-winning experience of Dani Alves. That should shore up what was a potential soft defensive underbelly and having got a taste for gold in Rio, Brazil could be the team to beat again.

Beaten Rio finalists Germany could pose a threat in Group D but Brazil look to have more quality and they should be able to top their section, meaning they would avoid tournament favourites Spain until the final should La Roja also top Group C.

Spain certainly look to hold strong claims with many of the players who helped them reach the semi-finals of Euro 2020 making the trip to Japan.

Pedri, Dani Olmo, Pau Torres, Eric Garcia, Unai Simon and Mikel Oyarzabal are all at Luis de la Fuente's disposal and he can also call upon experienced performers Marco Asensio, Dani Ceballos and Mikel Merino.

There's no doubt that La Roja boast a squad brimming with quality but that is reflected in the prices and perhaps the inclusion of some of the Euro 2020 squad is being overplayed by the betting.

Olmo and Oyarzabal have goals in them, but away from those two it's hard to see who else is going to contribute heavily when it comes to finding the net.

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