Denmark striker Emil Larsen. (Photo : Getty Images)
Two dark horse squads, Iraq and Denmark, will open the Men's Football competitions of the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics this Thursday, August 4 at the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha in the Brazilian capital of Brasília.
Iraq qualified for the Olympics after finishing third in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship, beating Qatar in the third-place playoff match, 2-1.
Tournament preparations had always been a concern for the Iraq under-23 squad, but head coach Abdul-Ghani Shahad has a lot of talented footballers to showcase in the Games this year, starting with team captain Saad Abdul-Amir.
The 24-year-old midfielder is one of Asiad Asia's overage players even though he is not that old. ESPN described him as "tidy in possession and intelligent in position" and is set to become the team's "midfield anchor" throughout the competitions.
The offense will be led by energetic striker Hammadi Ahmad together with his frontline partner Mohannad Abdul-Raheem and the duo could really create havoc for unprepared defenses.
However, the team's greatest strength would be the backfield where two defensive monsters Dhurgham Ismail and Ahmad Ibrahim, arguably the two best players in the squad, will be waiting for the best goalscoring threats of their opponents.
Meanwhile, Denmark's under-23 team has not been popular for the past 50 years and will be competing in the Olympics for the first time since 1992, but they are favored to qualify alongside Brazil from Group A in the knockout stages.
Head coach Niels Frederiksen's side qualified for the Games after topping the group stage and reaching the semifinals of the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
Denmark was defeated by eventual champions Sweden in the semis, 1-4, via Daily Mail Online, but they still advanced in the Olympics as European teams have four slots allotted to them.
The team's lineup is balanced in both skills and experience so it would be somewhat difficult for Iraq to keep up with the technicality of Frederiksen's boys. The presence of veteran defender Eddi Gomes, who currently plays for Chinese Super League outfit Henan Jianye, is also a big boost for the Danish squad.
Up front, the veteran combination of Emil Larsen and Lasse Vibe is one of the best in the tourney as they should be playing in the senior team, which would be enough for Denmark to advance in the quarterfinals.
The predicted result is a tough 2-1 victory for Denmark.
Iraq starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Talib; Nadhim, Ismail, Ibrahim, Adnan; Husni, Abdul-Amir, Kamel, Tariq; Ahmad, Abdul-Raheem
Denmark starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Hojbjerg; Puggaard, Gomes, Larsen, Gregor; Maxso, Nielsen, Jonsson, Rasmussen; Vibe, Larsen
