Olympic schedule, what to watch today: Men's soccer
Today's Olympic schedule is all about men's soccer. Spain vs. Japan and Great Britain will play Senegal.
Morocco's Noureddine Amrabat (9) battles for the ball with Honduras' Jose Velasquez during the soccer match against Honduras Thursday at Hampden Park Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.
Chris Clark/AP
Men's soccer is the sport to watch on today's Olympic schedule; there will be eight matches total, with several top-seeded teams playing today.
Play begins at noon (EDT) with Honduras vs. Morocco.
The most exciting matches today may be Spain vs. Japan, and Great Britain vs. Senegal. Spain and Japan will play at 2:45 p.m., and it will be the first time Spain has competed in men's soccer at the Olympics since 2000, and the first Olympics after beating The Netherlands 1-0 in the 2010 World Cup,
Great Britain and Senegal play tonight at 8 p.m. (EDT). It will be the first time since 1960 that players from all the British isles have combined to form one Olympic team, and it's sure to be a powerhouse. Senegal, who has never competed at the Olympics before, will be the underdog.
There will also be two history-making matches today; Uruguay and the United Arab Emirates at 5 p.m., and Switzerland and the African nation Gabon at 5:15 p.m. For both the UAE and Gabon it will be their first Olympic soccer matches, and it is also the first time Switzerland has sent a men's soccer team to the Olympics since 1928. Uruguay also has something to prove, they have not won a gold medal in men's soccer since they took back to back golds 1924 and 1928.
Today Mexico will also play against South Korea at 2:30 p.m., Egypt will take on Brazil at 7:45 p.m., and Belarus will play New Zealand at 7:45 p.m.
All the games will be streamed live at nbcolympics.com, and some will be broadcast on MSNBC and NBCSN (NBC's cable sports network). Check your local listings, or nbcolympics.com for times.