Man City star, two ex-Arsenal men, Barcelona wonderkid and team-mate in Summer Olympics XI
The football at the Summer Olympics is underway with hosts France expected to win gold. There are some big names in Paris and here is the best XI.
GK: Guillaume Restes (France)
Oh yes, you better believe this is completely reactionary after Restes did very well against the United States in France’s 3-0 win on Thursday.
Expect there to be lots of interest in the teenage goalkeeper this summer. Toulouse will surely be fielding plenty of calls with Bayern Munich reportedly long-time admirers.
RB: Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)
The dark horses for gold are Morocco, in my humble opinion. The presence of Paris Saint-Germain superstar Hakimi massively boosts their chances and a 2-1 win over Argentina on matchday one was an outstanding way to lay down a marker.
CB: Pau Cubarsi (Spain)
Leny Yoro and Cubarsi are the best teenage centre-backs in world football. The latter is at the Olympics with Spain and the former is in the United States with his new club Man Utd.
Conceding a penalty against Uzbekistan to make the match a lot more uncomfortable than it needed to be was far from an ideal start for the 17-year-old, who should bounce back as he partners former Manchester City defender Eric Garcia in Paris.
CB: Loic Bade (France)
You just wouldn’t understand the bias attachment I have to Bade, who was discovered by little ol’ me during his days at RC Lens in Ligue 2. There were higher hopes for the Frenchman than where his career has since taken him (Sevilla) but it’s still a good spot and someone whose career will be closely tracked.
This attachment sees him beat Nicolas Otamendi to a place. Just because.
LB: Sergio Gomez (Spain)
Former Man City left-back Gomez, who plays a little further forward for Spain, beats team-mate Juan Miranda and American defender John Tolkin to get into our Summer Olympics XI.
After receiving next to no minutes under Pep Guardiola, Gomez has joined Real Sociedad, where he will replace 2023/24 loanee Kieran Tierney, who is expected to leave Arsenal permanently this summer.
CM: Fermin Lopez (Spain)
It has been one hell of a year for young Fermin, who benefited from an injury crisis at Barcelona to prove his worth to Xavi. Neither looked back after an impressive start and after a wonderful season, he is representing his country at the Olympics.
CM: Mohamed Elneny (Egypt)
There is a need for variety given the strength of the French, Argentinian and Spanish squads, and who better to provide that variety than lovely, smiley Mo Elneny?
Spaniard Alex Baena, France’s Manu Kone and Argentina’s Pablo Barrios were tempting inclusions but the former Arsenal man is our pick as he bids to eclipse the colossal 96 minutes he played for the Gunners in 2023/24.
Elneny is also playing to impress clubs across the globe as he is now a free agent, leaving the Emirates after eight years.
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RW: Michael Olise (France)
Former Crystal Palace winger Olise is arguably France’s star man in Paris and the player Thierry Henry will look for when his side need a creative spark or a goal out of nowhere. He was excellent against the United States on Thursday and will probably be the best player in the whole competition before joining up with his new Bayern Munich team-mates.
LW: Julio Enciso (Paraguay)
Promising Brighton youngster Enciso is Paraguay’s star man at these Olympic Games. He could not help his side in their humiliating 5-0 defeat to Japan on matchday one but has the chance to make amends against Israel on Saturday before his side’s final group match against Mali next Tuesday. The games are coming thick and fast, folks.
📣 TO THE COMMENTS! Do you agree with our inclusions? Join the debate here.
ST: Alexandre Lacazette (France)
Arsenal fans wondered where that version of Lacazette was for them during Wednesday’s convincing win over the United States. He never got a chance under Didier Deschamps for France proper and for the Olympics team, the Lyon man is playing with pride as captain of Henry’s side.
ST: Julian Alvarez (Argentina)
World Cup winner Alvarez has a big decision to make concerning his Man City future but right now is all about winning a gold medal with his country.
Argentina’s big rivals and winners in 2021, Brazil, have not qualified, preventing us from a potentially incredible showdown between these two great nations in Paris. If we see them against France, like we did in Qatar two years ago, it will be a wonderful spectacle. They will have to fix up after their opening ‘circus’ of a match against Morocco, mind.
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