2012 Olympics: Spain Stunned By Japan In Opener

Great Britain Vs. Senegal, 2012 Olympics: Final Score 1-1 After Senegal Draw Level Late

Great Britain didn't get off to the best of starts at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Having been soundly dispatched by Brazil in last week's preseason friendly, Stuart Pearce's men had to hit the ground running against Senegal in their match at Old Trafford. They ... didn't.

Although "Team GB" took the lead in the 20th minute after Liverpool's Craig Bellamy hammered home a shot following a free kick, they suddenly became far less adventurous in the second half, allowing their guests to get back into the match and eventually earn a 1-1 draw.

Senegal were putting significant pressure on Great Britain throughout the second half, although Bellamy should have won a penalty after being fouled in the box by Saliou Ciss while the match was still 1-0. The refereeing error cost Great Britain, as they were hit on the break with eight minutes to go, with a corner somehow turning into a brilliant through ball by Moussa Konate, who finished coolly past Jack Butland.

Substitute centre forward Marvin Sordell had a chance to put the British side back ahead four minutes later, rattling the crossbar after fine work on the left by Aaron Ramsey, and he had a penalty shout shortly thereafter when Abdoulaye Ba got a combination of man and ball on Ryan Giggs' through ball. That would be the last major chance of the game, as Great Britain ran out of steam (not to mention cutting edge). They'll play the United Arab Emirates in their next match before a painful-looking fixture against Uruguay to close out the group.

Brazil Vs. Egypt, 2012 Olympics: Final Score 3-2 As Brazil Win Despite Scare

Brazil made things far more stressful than they really should have in their opening match of the 2012 Olympics. Tipped to be medalists, the Selecao want up early and then kept scoring. They led 3-0 at halftime, and for a while it looked as though the match would be a merry romp to a silly scoreline. But Egypt were unbroken, and stormed back in the second half, scoring twice in making Mario Menezes' men very dangerous. Not that that stopped Brazil from winning, but it did make things fairly entertaining.

It didn't take long for the Brazilian goal parade to arrive. In the sixteenth minute, Manchester United fullback Rafael da Silva ran onto an Oscar pass intended for Hulk in the Egyptian penalty area, but did well enough for himself, taking the ball through a few defenders before slotting home at Ahmed El-Shenawi's far post.

That first Oscar assist was more or less accidental, but the second was not. The 20-year-old ran onto a header from former Internacional teammate Leandro Damiao, nicking the ball from El-Shenawi just as the goalkeeper was about to claim. The challenged forced the midfielder wide, but instead of going for the open goal from a tight angle, Oscar looked up and caught Leandro unmarked in the centre, the striker netting coolly to make it 2-0.

After a header from Neymar made it three, it seemed as through there was a rout on the cards. The favourites, holding a seemingly insurmountable lead against vastly inferior opposition, switched off and never got back in gear. That allowed Egypt to make the game hugely uncomfortable, with Mohamed Aboutrike smashing in a rebound after Emad Meteab's snapshot rattled the post.

If anyone was expecting Brazil to wake up after Egypt scored, they were sadly mistake. Having established their lead and scored their goals, the Selecao seemed more interested in pulling off pretty tricks rather than actually scoring goals, and Marcelo nearly made a critical error when he let Mohamed Salah latch onto a back header and go free on goal, eventually making up for the mistake with a flying block.

But Egypt were not to be denied their second. Salah made it happen, ripping the Brazilian defence with a series of jinks before finished left-footed past Neto in the 76th minute. At 3-2, the remaining time was pretty nervy, but Brazil were ultimately able to hold out for a 3-2 win in what was a hugely entertaining game.

Spain Vs. Japan, 2012 Olympics: Final Score 1-0 Japan As Favourites Shocked

Spain are champions of Europe and holders of the World Cup, and many were expecting them to add Olympic gold to their list of honours in 2012. With stars like Jordi Alba, Juan Mata and Javi Martinez all in the squad, surely it was either Spain or Brazil to win the final? Turns out these Olympics aren't quite a foregone conclusion.

Japan sank the favourites 1-0 thanks to strong defending, a wicked counterattack and a red card to Inigo Martinez before halftime. Spain started strongly, holding possession in the style of the senior team, but Japan struck just after the half-hour mark, when poor defending from a corner left Yuki Otsu completely free to volley past David de Gea. It was 1-0 Japan -- a recoverable score -- but things went from bad to worse when Inigo Martinez grabbed Kensuke Nagai's shirt and yanked him down when he was looking to go clean through on goal.

It was a clear red card offence, and off Martinez went. Spain are good, but ten men against eleven is always a tough ask, and Japan were able to exploit the spaces left behind the Spanish fullbacks to set up some very good counterattacking play. Indeed, they had two chances to extend their lead in the second half, only for Kiroshi Hyotake to shoot wide of de Gea's post each time.

The expected Spanish push did eventually materialise, but the Japanese defence held and Shuichi Gonda was equal to everything that did get through. It was actually Japan who had the best chance of the late stages when Nagai robbed Oriol Romeu and sauntered into to penalty box, denied only by an excellent save from de Gea. Then Hotaru Yamaguchi skied a shot from eight yards while completely free. That, more or less, would be that, and for the third major tournament in a row, Spain ended up with a disappointing result (and performance) in their first game.

That hasn't stopped them winning in the past, of course, so it's not time to write this team off. But they've made it much more difficult on themselves with this loss. Japan, meanwhile, will be thrilled. They've just navigated a very difficult challenge and, poor finishing aside, come out of it with flying colours.

Mexico Vs. South Korea, 2012 Olympics: Final Score, El Tri Disappoint In 0-0 Draw

If Mexico are going to win their first ever Olympic medal, they're going to have to improve significantly from their performance on Thursday. Months upon months of training together as a team and playing friendlies didn't appear to do El Tri any good against South Korea, as they struggled to complete simple passes and ended up on the back foot for much of the match. Both teams' goalkeepers played well while both teams' forwards did not in a 0-0 draw.

Very little happened for Mexico until the very end of the game, when they created a couple of potential game-winning chances. Giovani dos Santos, who came off the bench, had a golden opportunity to win the game in the 88th minute, but completely mishit a left-footed volley wide from 10 yards. He made up for it two minutes later by sending Raul Jimenez through on goal, but he pulled his shot wide of the target.

Jesus Corona made things tough for South Korea all game with his command of his penalty area, but he was never actually called upon to make a save. For all of South Korea's dangerous set pieces and counter attacks, they did not register a single shot on target.

Group B lacks a heavyweight, so both Mexico and South Korea should be very much alive after drawing each other. Gabon and Switzerland, who are both solid but not nearly as deep as either Mexico or South Korea, play later in the day.

2012 Olympics, Men's Football Tournament: Game Times, TV Schedule, Streaming And More

There aren't any marquee matches, but some solid close clashes to kick off the men's football tournament at the 2012 Olympics.

Mexico Vs. South Korea, 2012 Olympics: Can El Tri Live Up To The Hype?

Mexico will have to step up their game if they are to make good on their Olympic potential.

Great Britain Vs. Senegal, 2012 Olympics: A Perfect Trap Game

Great Britain are favorites against Senegal, but this could be a classic trap game.

2012 Olympics: Men's Football Tournament Preview

Brazil are clear favorites to win gold in London, while the hosts could be just barely on the outside looking in at a medal.

Follow @SBNationSoccer