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DAY -2: 25 July 2012/Wednesday

The Games of the XXX Olympiad are officially set to open on Friday in London, and Olympic fever has started to take over cyberspace. There has been speculation and myriad hypotheses about who might set the flame alight at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford from among the former British sporting greats that the organizing committee has assembled to participate in the opening ceremonies. There has also been controversy, as widows of the 1972 Munich tragedy fight vainly for a moment of silence at those ceremonies honoring the memory of the 11 athletes who lost their lives 40 years ago.

The participants are ready to walk into the stadium bedecked in their nation’s colors, behind their nation’s flag, in the processional that commences the quadrennial spectacle. But some athletes will feel more confident in their garb than others. The American team has taken a large dose of invective for the overseas construction of their garments, their Ralph Lauren-designed blazers and hats outsourced to China. But it is the Spaniards in the garish freebies that will lead many to revert back in time and try to adjust the contrast and brightness of their televisions.

The thousands of athletes are all primed to pursue the dream of citius, altius, fortius in the coming weeks. But while most are still itching to get out of their togs and into more athletic attire, a select few of those athletes will already have Olympic action in their legs when they parade around the track for the tens of thousands in the seats and the millions watching worldwide. While July 27 is the official start of the Games, there have already been 14 games completed in the men’s and women’s soccer tournaments in the two days preceding Friday’s festivities.

If you’ve been waiting for the flames and fireworks to kick-start the next fortnight of Olympic sports action, you missed out on one amazing result after another. A third of the group stage is gone; only two chances remain for each team to book their place in the medal rounds. With proper British decorum, ladies went first, a six-pack of Wednesday action followed by the eight men’s contests on Thursday. And that goes without mentioning the world record set in the hours before the ceremony commenced. The soft opening of the Games around Great Britain has already yielded moments that will resonate within the larger history of the 2012 Olympiad.

Great Britain v. New Zealand (Millennium Stadium/Cardiff)

The real start of the Olympics took place not at the Olympic Stadium in London but at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. There the British women’s soccer team took on New Zealand in its first-ever Olympic match. For the first twenty minutes, the Brits were tentative on and off the ball, and the Kiwis controlled play at the start. But the hosts started to come together as the first half wore on.

New Zealand’s keeper Jenny Bindon was put to the test in the 21st minute when Stephanie Houghton struck a dangerous free kick from distance. The attacks came with regularity through the rest of the half. Anita Asante put a header on goal in the 34th minute that pinged against the post, keeping the score level. Two minutes later, Asante missed on another header, and Alex Scott twisted around her defender in the 38th before putting her shot wide. The half would end scoreless as all of Britain’s threats failed to get past Bindon.

Amber Hearn almost put the visitors ahead four minutes after the resumption of play, driving a free kick just wide of Karen Bardsley’s goal. Both sides had their chances in the next quarter-hour, but it was Houghton who successfully curled a free kick first. Lining up a right-footed shot in the 64th minute, Houghton hit a curving ball that found the opposite side of the net to put Britain ahead. The final half-hour would see the two sides continue to attack, but neither an insurance goal nor an equalizer were forthcoming. Britain would squeak by 1-0, winning their inaugural taste of Olympic competition. New Zealand would finish the match still winless in either the Olympics or World Cup.

Canada v. Japan (City of Coventry Stadium/Coventry)

The defending Women’s World Cup champions staked a two-goal lead in the first half, and then survived a challenging second half to defeat the Canadians in Coventry. The Japanese side controlled possession throughout the game, yet still was forced to hold on as Canada attacked in a spirited showing that wiped out the world champion’s clean sheet and limited the differential to just one goal.

With 57 percent of the possession, Japan deftly worked the field in the first half to open the Canadian defense and create opportunities. It took 33 minutes to get on the scoreboard, but Nahomi Kawasumi took a pass in the box from Shinobu Ohno and bent the ball past Canuck keeper Erin McLeod for the opener. Continuing to press, Japan was rewarded again just before halftime when Aya Miyama split three Canadian defenders to get her head on a cross that redirected past McLeod. Up 2-0 at the half, the champs were cruising through to a convincing opening victory.

Then something happened after halftime — the Canadians found a new pace of play that seemed to unsettle Japan’s composure. After nearly scoring a third goal a few minutes into the second half, Japan was flummoxed when Rhian Wilkinson streaked downfield on the counterattack. Finding space, she slotted the ball in for Melissa Tancredi. The veteran forward, earning her 80th cap for Canada, expertly put the ball past Miho Fukumoto to halve the gap in the score. The Canadians would continue to pressure, though captain Christine Sinclair was notably absent from the heart of the action. Ultimately the momentum wasn’t enough to defeat Japan, but Canada acquitted itself well in the second half of its defeat.

United States v. France (Hampden Park/Glasgow)

The Americans, still smarting from their defeat to Japan at last year’s World Cup, seemed trapped in a horrible dream as France opened a two-goal lead in the first fifteen minutes of their game in Glasgow. But showing veteran resolve, the United States managed to pull even by halftime and then pull away for a comfortable victory on Scottish soil.

Two minutes apart, Gaëtane Thiney and Marie-Laure Delie awakened the Americans from their sleepwalking nightmare with a pair of point-blank goals that exposed the sloppy American defenses. On the first goal, Thiney dribbled through the attacking third of the field virtually uncontested. Bearing down on the goal, she struck a powerful ball that Hope Solo judged correctly but simply could not parry away from the goal. On the second goal, Delie was the beneficiary of an inability by five different American defenders to clear the ball from the box. Striking from six yards out, Delie drove a ball that Solo had no hope of stopping.

Snapped from their stupor and in the hole, the U.S. got to work. Shannon Boxx, injuring her right quadriceps, was forced to exit the match; in came Carli Lloyd, hero of the 2008 Olympics with her overtime game-winner against Brazil. Two minutes later Ally Wambach scored the first, connecting with a Megan Rapinoe corner kick to shave the deficit in the 19th minute. Alex Morgan would equalize in the 32nd minute, beating the French defenders to a long punt from Solo and finishing clinically from close range. Lloyd would prove magical again, scoring the winner 11 minutes after halftime after she polished off another beautiful set-up from Rapinoe. Morgan would get her brace ten minutes later, and the Americans would win an Olympic match after falling behind by two goals for the first time in team history.

Cameroon v. Brazil (Millennium Stadium/Cardiff)

The Brazilians coasted through their opening match against Cameroon in Cardiff. Francielle opened scoring seven minutes into the festivities, with Renata Costa doubling the score three minutes later. Controlling the match from start to finish, Brazil’s women enjoyed a 2-to-1 advantage in possession. Rarely touching the ball, Cameroon mustered just one shot on goal as they struggled to get anywhere near Brazilian goalkeeper Andreia. Brazil took a comfortable 2-0 lead into the break, a lead which could have easily been wider if not for the valiant attempts of Cameroonian keeper Annette Ngo Ndom.

Ngo Ndom kept her team in the match through the first half hour of the second half, parrying aside shots. But when referee Jenny Palmqvist pointed to the penalty spot in the 73rd minute, Brazil’s captain Marta stepped up and notched another goal to put her team up 3-0. Super-sub Cristiane struck the fourth in the 80th, and Marta tapped in another two minutes from stoppage time to complete the Brazilian rout. Barring a major turnaround, the goal differential effectively put Brazil through to the next round and eliminated Cameroon after just one match.

Sweden v. South Africa (City of Coventry Stadium/Coventry)

Like Brazil, the Swedes never seemed to let off the accelerator as they overpowered their own African opponent. Caroline Seger nearly got the opener less than five minutes after the start, hitting the crossbar on a powerful volley that pinged the wrong way. Two minutes later it was Nilla Fischer who scored Sweden’s first. By halftime, the score was 3-0 thanks to back-to-back goals a minute apart. Lisa Dahlqvist grabbed the second in the 20th minute, beating Roxanne Barker for the goal, before Lotta Schelin duplicated the effort in the 21st.

South Africa calmed down in the second half, holding possession longer and finding shooting lanes on Hedvig Lindahl’s goal. Portia Modise would ruin Sweden’s clean sheet in the 60th minute, taking advantage of Lindahl out of position far outside the box. Nabbing possession at the midfield line, Modise uncorked a wicked shot from 40 yards out that lofted over the retreating goalkeeper and into the net. But it only served to reawaken the Scandinavians, who returned to the attack to regain their three-goal lead less than three minutes after Modise’s stunner. It was Schelin getting her second of the night, tapping in a well-placed cross from Sara Thunebro. Locking down on the South Africans from there, Sweden coasted to the 4-1 victory.

Colombia v. North Korea (Hampden Park/Glasgow)

The match between the North Koreans and the Colombians was as notable for the delay of the start as it was for the match itself. In a blunder that left the Koreans offended and aggravated, they postponed taking the field for kickoff when the scoreboard showed a South Korean flag next to each player’s photo during introductions instead of their own banner. Originally threatening to pull out of the tournament, the matter was eventually cleared up though the slight stuck with the Koreans as they took the field.

It galvanized the North Korean attack and the defense. Colombia was unable to sustain any momentum despite having the slight advantage in possession, failing to put a single shot on goal. North Korea pressed forward at every opportunity from the start, threatening Sandra Sepulveda’s goal several times before finally breaking the deadlock late in the first half. A long ball into the Colombian box in the 39th minute pinballed off several players before caroming off Kim Song-Hui’s shin past Sepulveda, giving Korea the 1-0 lead at halftime. Kim would add a second goal in the 86th minute, gladly taking a gift rebound from Sepulveda and coolly putting it into the net for the 2-0 win.

But even after victory the Korean contingent seethed. “Winning the game can’t compensate for the mistake,” North Korea coach Sin Ui Gun said through an interpreter after the game. “I just want to stress once again that our players’ images and names can’t be shown alongside the South Korea flag.” The team remained in the tournament, accepting the profuse apologies of the IOC, but it was a gaffe nevertheless on a global stage that should have been caught well before the opening match.

Group E

Group F

Group G