2012年伦敦奥运会足球比赛抽签完成

Football will receive the Olympic spotlight in London this summer. The draw for the 2012 Olympics tournament was held on Wednesday, with the first soccer match coming two days before the opening ceremony.

The women’s draw features an opener between Great Britain and New Zealand in Cardiff, 155 miles away from the action in London. Draws for both the men’s and women’s tournaments took place at London’s iconic Wembley stadium.

Retired Brazilian striker Ronaldo was on hand to oversee the proceedings. The first women’s match will be one of five to be played on July 25, before men’s football starts the following day with a matchup between Brazil and Egypt in the Welsh capital.

The Brazilian men have never won Olympic gold, but the team was placed in a relatively-weak Group C for London 2012. Brazil will meet Belarus at Old Trafford on July 29 and New Zealand in Newcastle on Aug. 1. In Group D, Spain will start against Japan at Hampden Park in Glasgow on July 26, followed by a trip to St. James’ Park to face Honduras on July 29, and then, on to Old Trafford to play Morocco on Aug. 1.

Great Britain will have a football team at the Olympics for the first time since 1960, and it will start its campaign against Senegal in Group A at Old Trafford on July 26. The host squad expects to include David Beckham in the lineup. Britain meets the United Arab Emirates at Wembley on the 29th, and Uruguay at the Millennium Stadium on August 1. In Group B, Mexico will play South Korea in Newcastle on July 26, Gabon on July 29 and Switzerland on Aug. 1.

In the women’s draw, Britain will follow-up its opener against New Zealand with meetings against Cameroon and Brazil in Group E. World Cup champion Japan was drawn with Canada, Sweden and South Africa in Group F. In Group G, the United States, winners of the gold medal four years ago in Beijing, face France, Colombia and the DPRK. The Americans meet the DPRK at Old Trafford on July 31. They have met four times at the Women’s World Cup, but never at the Olympics.