Youth Soccer

CAPE TOWN - South Africa’s soccer team coach David Notoane said his side were caught in the eye of a coronavirus storm and likened their situation to waiting for a guillotine to fall ahead of their Tokyo Olympic Games opener against hosts Japan on Thursday.

The squad was severely depleted by COVID-19 infections and withdrawals before they left South Africa, and has now faced further setbacks after players Thabiso Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi, along with video analyst Mario Masha, tested positive for the virus on arrival in Tokyo.

LEEDS, England - When you think of addiction, the first things that come to mind are gambling, alcohol and drug abuse.

Footballers down the ages have not been immune to falling into either of those vice's grips — some of the best players to have ever graced the pitch, George Best, Diego Maradona and Paul Gascoigne to name but a few.

But there is one addiction, previously seen as a harmless bit of fun, that is becoming a serious issue among professional footballers, of all levels — a compulsion to play computer games.

When it comes to Olympic soccer, Americans generally know the women’s team is going to compete for gold. The USWNT has won four golds and one silver in six prior tournaments. The U.S. men are a totally different story, resulting in American soccer fans asking themselves every four years: Is USMNT in Olympics?

The U.S. women's soccer team is determined to make up for its quarterfinal exit in Rio and reassert their dominance at the Tokyo Olympics, while Brazil will aim to repeat as champion in the men's event after ending its long wait for gold in 2016.

The United States has won four of the six gold medals since a women's tournament was introduced to the Olympic programme at the Atlanta Games in 1996 and as current world champion it starts as clear favorite again.

MELBOURNE - Upbeat Australia coach Graham Arnold has urged Argentina to bring Lionel Messi to the Olympics and described their tough pool as Tokyo's "group of dreams.”

Drawn with twice champions Argentina, 1992 winners Spain and Egypt, the “Olyroos” face an uphill battle to reach the knockout rounds of the 16-team tournament, their first Games since Beijing in 2008.

The manager of the Egypt national under-23 team, Shawky Gharib, hinted at the presence of Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah at the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.

"The only senior player who has been chosen is Mohamed Salah, he's one of the three best players in the world," the coach said. "The remaining choices will depend on the team's need."