On July 25, in the first round of Group D in the Olympic men’s football tournament, the Japanese men’s team thrashed Paraguay 5-0 to secure a strong opening victory. Yahoo Japan sees this as an excellent omen, as every time the Japanese men’s team has advanced from the group stage this century, they have always won their opening match.
This is also the seventh consecutive Olympic appearance for the Japanese men’s team this century. In the previous six appearances, the team advanced from the group stage three times (2000, 2012, 2021), and in each of these instances, they secured a win in their opening match.
In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Japanese men’s team overturned a 1-2 deficit to beat South Africa 2-1 in their first match and ultimately reached the quarterfinals. In the 2012 London Olympics, the team defeated Spain 1-0 in their opening match and finished fourth overall. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the team beat South Africa 1-0 in their first match and again finished fourth in the tournament.
To date, with their commanding victory over Paraguay in the opening round of the Olympic men’s football tournament, this bodes well for the team as a very good sign.