By David Salazar (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Jul 26, 2012 10:53 AM EDT

Brazil gets its big day against Egypt while Belarus and New Zealand will face-off. Which teams are favorites to win their respective matches?

Brazil Vs. Egypt 2:45 p.m. ET

Aside from Spain, no other team comes into the tournament with a bigger spotlight following them around. Brazil has never won a gold medal at the Olympic Games and this seems like their best chance in a while to make it happen. Superstar Neymar has made a habit of opening his mouth often, but has backed it up with tremendous play. 9 goals in 9 games while qualifying for the tournament is an example of said play. But the team does not start and end with Neymar. His supporting cast includes Thiago Silva, Romulo, Sandro, Ganso, Damaio, Pato, and Lucas. Any of these guys can steal the show at any moment, but Neymar must shine brightest if this team is going all the way to the gold. Their chances are limited a bit by the untimely injury to goalkeeper Rafael, but Brazil should be able to make up for it with strong depth at that position.

Goalkeepers

1

GABRIEL

18

NETO

Defenders

2

RAFAEL

3

THIAGO SILVA

4

JUAN JESUS

6

MARCELO

8

ROMULO

13

BRUNO UVINI

14

DANILO

15

ALEX SANDRO

Midfielders

5

SANDRO

10

OSCAR

16

GANSO

Forwards

7

LUCAS

9

LEANDRO DAMIAO

11

NEYMAR

12

HULK

17

ALEXANDRE PATO

Coach

MENEZES Mano

Egypt barely made it to the games as they alternated wins and losses through the qualifying tournament. The nation has surely seen better times on the International stage and their seeding into a relatively wide open group surely gives them a chance to redeem their poor standing over the last few years.  Strikers Ahmed Sherwida and Marwan Mohsen both top-scored with three goals apiece in qualifying and will be relied on to give the Baby Pharaohs the boost they need in this tournament.

Goalkeepers

1

Ahmed ELSHENAWI

18

Mohamed BASSAM

Defenders

2

Mahmoud ALAA ELDIN

3

ALY FATHY

4

OMAR GABER

6

Ahmed HEGAZI

7

AHMED FATHI

12

Eslam RAMADAN

15

Saadeldin SAAD

Midfielders

8

Shehab AHMED

13

SALEH GOMAA

14

HOSSAM HASSAN

17

Mohamed EL NENY

Forwards

5

Mohamed ABOUTRIKA

9

Marwan MOHSEN

10

EMAD METEAB

11

MOHAMED SALAH

16

Ahmed MAGDY

Coach

RAMZY Hany

Prediction: 4-1 Brazil. Brazil starts their tournament with the flair and offensive prowess everyone is expecting.

Belarus Vs. New Zealand 2:45 p.m. ET

The Belarusians have never appeared in the finals of a major tournament, making London 2012 a historic tournament for them. They won only two of five matches in qualifying but have already proven to be a promising side in other international tournament qualifiers. Alexei Voronkov is the centerpiece of their team and will be relied upon to add more than the 2 goals he scored in the qualifying tournament. No one thinks much of Belarus in this tournament, but that could work to their advantage as they try to make a name for themselves.

Goalkeepers

1

Aleksandr GUTOR

18

Andrei SHCHERBAKOV

Defenders

3

Igor KUZMENOK

4

Sergei POLITEVICH

6

Aleksei GAVRILOVICH

7

Maksim VITUS

12

Aleksei KOZLOV

17

Denis POLYAKOV

Midfielders

2

Stanislav DRAGUN

5

Dmitry BAGA

10

Renan BARDINI BRESSAN

13

Ilya ALEKSIEVICH

15

Artem SOLOVEI

16

Mikhail GORDEICHUK

Forwards

8

Sergei KORNILENKO

9

Vladimir KHVASHCHINSKY

11

Andrei VORONKOV

14

Egor ZUBOVICH

Coach

KONDRATYEV Georgy


Like Belarus, New Zealand is also on the upswing in the soccer world after making a debut in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 World Cup. They can only get better with the addition of Tommy Smith, Chris Wood, Kosta Barbarouses and Marco Rojas, all of which did not play in the qualifying tournament. New Zealand won all four of its matches in that tournament.

Goalkeepers

1

Jake GLEESON

18

Michael O KEEFFE

Defenders

3

Ian HOGG

4

Tim MYERS

5

Tommy SMITH

6

Ryan NELSEN

12

Adam THOMAS

14

James MUSA

Midfielders

2

Tim PAYNE

7

Kosta BARBAROUSES

8

Michael McGLINCHEY

13

Alex FENERIDIS

15

Cameron HOWIESON

17

Adam MCGEORGE

Forwards

9

Shane SMELTZ

10

Chris WOOD

11

Marco ROJAS

16

Dakota LUCAS

Coach

EMBLEN Neil

Prediction: 2-1 New Zealand. The Kiwis get a win over the Belarusians in an exciting match. Chris Wood will be the difference in this match.

To Watch the Live Streams for Brazil Vs. Egypt 2:45 PM, click HERE.**

To Watch the Live Streams for New Zealand Vs. Belarus 2:45 PM, click HERE.**

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