Olympic Soccer 2012: Team by Team Starting 11, Preview and Medal Predictions

If you're longing for quality international football now that Euro 2012 is over and domestic seasons have not yet begun, the Olympics are here to relieve your pain.

Throughout the entire competition in London, a 16-team under-23 tournament will be giving you a taste of what the brightest youngsters from across the world have to offer.

But, like in every World Cup, some teams probably should not be competing, and only qualified due to the poor region in which they play.

Here is a thorough breakdown of every team that is going for the gold.

Honduras

Starting XI: Jose Mendoza, Maynor Figueroa, Jose Velasquez, Arnold Peralta, Mario Martinez, Alfredo Mejia, Alexander Lopez, Jerry Bengston, Andy Najar, Roger Espinoza, Johnny Leveron.

Honduras had a good chance of getting out of their group before the tournament, but they face a long uphill climb with Japan in front and Spain still the juggernaut that they are.

Maynor Figueroa and Johnny Leveron are two of the better players on this side, and the former has a lot of Premier League experience to bring to the team.

Andy Najar probably has the most pure talent of any player on the roster, and his spark in midfield should make him an automatic starter at the age of 19.

Morocco

Starting XI: Mohamed Amsif, Mohamed Abarhoun, Abdelhamid El Kaoutari, Zakarya Bergdich, Zakaria Labyad, Driss Fettouhi, Noureddine Amrabat, Abdelaziz Barrada, Soufiane Bidaoui, Houssine Kharja, Yassine Jebbour.

Morocco was always projected to be the whipping boys in Group D, and the team has dug itself a hole with a draw against Honduras.

The problem with the North African side is that, as you can probably tell from the players' names, there is a paucity of depth in the team. Players few have heard of will have to succeed for Morocco to somehow get out of the group.

However, there are some seasoned veterans of Europe's top leagues sprinkled in, like Houssine Kharja and Abdelhamid El Kaoutari of Serie A and Ligue 1, respectively.

Japan

Starting XI: Shuichi Gonda, Yuhei Tokunaga, Takahiro Ohgihara, Hiroki Sakai, Maya Yoshida, Yuki Otsu, Keigo Higashi, Kensuke Nagai, Daisuke Suzuki, Hotaru Yamaguchi, Hiroshi Kiyotake.

Interestingly, Japan did not take any high-profile over-age players to the Olympics, but a tremendous team work ethic and underestimated quality could make the Japanese a dark-horse country.

As they demonstrated against Spain, Japan can run anyone to exhaustion and counterattack well, and despite a squad that is not the most mouthwatering in the tournament, it could trouble some of the better teams and progress to the later rounds.

Spain

Starting XI: David de Gea, Alvaro Dominguez, Inigo Martinez, Javi Martinez, Jordi Alba, Adrian Lopez, Rodrigo, Juan Mata, Koke, Martin Montoya, Isco

By this point, we all know how Spain will play and that it has several players capable of passing any opponent to death. Going into a match with La Roja, this is assumed.

As in every tournament that Spain plays, there is an embarrassing amount of depth at the manager's disposal. Any of Iker Muniain, Oriol Romeu or Cristian Tello could slot into the starting lineup at any time to add something different or make an impact off the bench.

But the Spanish will have to be wary of getting complacent with the ball, and against aggressive teams like Japan, we have seen them stumble, albeit infrequently.

Gabon

Starting XI: Didier Ovono, Mueller Dinda, Franck Engonga, Allen Nono, Alexander Ndoumbou, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Levy Madinda, Merlin Tanjigora, Mabikou Boussoughou, Henry Ndong, Jerry Obiang.

My apologies to any of my Gabonian readers, but the African minnows are one of the worst teams of the tournament on paper and, in all likelihood, will make a swift exit during the group stage of the competition.

The one slim hope that Gabon can cling to is Saint-Etienne striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is rapidly rising to stardom and is head-and-shoulders beyond much of the young competition he will face during the Olympics.

Switzerland

Starting XI: Diego Benaglio, Xavier Hochstrasser, Oliver Buff, Innocent Emeghara, Fabian Frei, Admir Mehmedi, Ricardo Rodriguez, Steven Zuber, Timm Klose, Fabian Schaer, Michael Morganella.

In almost every international tournament that Switzerland qualifies for, it seems to be the underdogs, and this one is certainly no exception.

Without their best young players—Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka—this is a very depleted side, and one that will have a tough time coping with the bigger boys in their own group.

The Swiss do know how to pull off upset victories, defeating Spain 1-0 in the 2010 World Cup, but it's tough to see a way past the group for this bunch.

South Korea

Starting XI: Jung Sung-Ryong, Yun Suk-Young, Ki Sung-Yueng, Kim Bok-Young, Park Chu-Young, Nam Tae-Hee, Hwang Seok-Ho, Koo Ja-Cheol, Kim Chang-Soo, Park Jong-Woo.

With one of the most experienced teams in the Olympics and a very deep squad, South Korea should be a safe bet to get out of their group and possibly progress much farther.

The Koreans nurture their talent and take a lot of pride in their youth football, so every player on the team has been playing at this level for a while, and many are accomplished club players, as well.

Though he has hardly played, Park Chu-Young is nevertheless an Arsenal player, Ji Dong-Wan has been a good contributor for Sunderland, and many of the rest play for either good European clubs or at the top level of South Korean domestic football.

Mexico

Starting XI: Jose Corona, Carlos Salcido, Hiram Mier, Darvin, Chavez, Hector Herrera, Marco Fabian, Oribe Peralta, Javier Aquino, Diego Reyes, Nestor Vidrio, Miguel Ponce.

Teams that value the Olympics higher than others tend to conquer supposedly bigger footballing countries, and Mexico have certainly made a concerted effort to bring home the gold.

Along with established internationals like Jose Corona and Carlos Salcido, who has over 100 caps for the senior side, there are stars like Giovani dos Santos and experienced U-23 players such as Hecter Herrera.

With the right chemistry and the requisite luck, Mexico might just make it to the final.

United Arab Emirates

Starting XI: Ali Khaseif, Abdulaziz Hussain, Mohamed Ahmad, Amer Abdulraman, Hamdan Al Kamali, Ismaeil Matar, Ahmed Khalil, Khamis Esmaeel, Abdelaziz Sanqour, Omar Abdulraman, Rashed Eisa.

Unfortunately for the UAE, it got placed in a group with Great Britain and Uruguay. Really, though, it would probably get bounced after the first round no matter what group they were put in.

Regrettably, I cannot give you much insight into any exceptional players or the team's style because I simply do not know of a name on the team. If you do, you're welcome to educate me in the comments.

It is worth noting that this team was up 1-0 on Uruguay, one of the best teams in the Olympics, for almost 20 minutes, so there might be some potential in this team, after all.

Senegal

Starting XI: Ousmane Mane, Saliou Ciss, Abdoulaye Ba, Papa Gueye, Zargo Toure, Moussa Konate, Sadio Mane, Ibrahima Balde, Mohamed Diame, Idrissa Gueye, Papa Souare.

For a rather small African nation, Senegal has actually put together a decent team that has the potential to make it out of Group A with Uruguay.

Many of their players are European professionals with experience in a variety of countries with varying playing styles. Premier League men include Mohamed Diame, who plies his trade for newly promoted side West Ham, and Magaye Gueye, who plays for Everton.

After a 1-1 draw with England, a couple good results could thrust Senegal into the unpredictable knockout stages, in which they would have a decent chance of progressing.

Great Britain

Starting XI: Jack Butland, Neil Taylor, Ryan Bertrand, Micah Richards, Danny Rose, Steven Caulker, Tom Cleverley, Joe Allen, Daniel Sturridge, Craig Bellamy, Ryan Giggs.

Though this squad doesn't include David Beckham and it does not stack up with the very best in the tournament, Stuart Pierce has nevertheless assembled a side worthy of progression.

While not every player has a lot of Premier League experience, Micah Richards, Aaron Ramsey, Daniel Sturridge, Joe Allen, Craig Bellamy and Ryan Giggs do.

Allen will be a big, if initially unheralded player in the midfield engine room, while Great Britain will rely heavily upon its over-age players—some of the best in the tournament—to carry the side to victory.

One wonders, however, what a full slate of games will do to the legs of the 38-year-old Giggs.

Uruguay

Starting XI: Martin Campana, Ramon Arias, Sebastian Coates, Emiliano Albin, German Rolin, Edinson Cavani, Maximiliano Calzada, Gaston Ramirez, Matias Aguirregaray, Egidio Arevalo, Luis Suarez.

Boasting arguably the most star-studded team in the tournament, Uruguay is guaranteed to make it past the group stage and have a very good shot at reaching the final.

Ramon Arias is a rising star at right back, and a very capable supporting cast is turbo-boosted by the inclusions of Sebastian Coates, Gaston Ramirez and especially Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez.

If these world-class internationals get into top form early on, Uruguay has the potential to steamroll their opponents. They didn't in their first game, though, as fans watched them eek out a win against the UAE.

New Zealand

Starting XI: Michael O'Keeffe, Tim Payne, Ian Hogg, Tommy Smith, Ryan Nelsen, Kosta Barbarouses, Michael McGlinchey, Marco Rojas, Adam Thomas, Chris Wood, Shane Smeltz.

This New Zealand is not without decent players and the Kiwis have shown in the past that they are capable of pulling off some surprising results.

However, they just do not have the requisite quality to go very far in the Olympics. Even with experienced national team members Shane Smeltz and Ryan Nelsen, there is just not enough top-level talent to compete with others.

Luckily for New Zealand, they were placed in the weakest group of all, but it will be tough to recover after an opening-game loss to Belarus.

Belarus

Starting XI: Aleksandr Gutor, Stanislav Dragun, Igor Kuzmenok, Sergei Politevich, Dimitry Baga, Sergei Kornilenko, Renan Bressan, Aleksei Kozlov, Artem Solovei, Mikhail Gordeichuk, Denis Polyakov.

We don't see many great teams come out of Eastern Europe, and I don't think that Belarus is an exception. But, because they are in the weakest group and have already beaten New Zealand, the minnows have a good chance to progress.

Most Belarussian players ply their trades for clubs in the region, so many names might not be familiar to you. Indeed, several did not ring a bell with me.

But if midfielder Renan Bressan gets going in midfield and replicates the impressive form he has shown for BATE Borisov, you won't need to know many other names.

Egypt

Starting XI: Ahmed Elshenawi, Mahmoud Alaa Eldin, Mohamed Aboutrika, Ahmed Hegazi, Ahmed Fathi, Marwan Mohsen, Emad Meteab, Eslam Ramadan, Saleh Gomaa, Hossam Hassan, Mohamed El Neny.

Many of these Egyptian players are not household names in Europe, but the best on this team are some of the best that Africa has to offer.

Over-age captain Mohamed Aboutrika showed his class against Brazil and popped up with a goal to get his country back in the game. Emad Meteab played a big role in moving the ball when Egypt had it, and, just to flash some depth, Mohamed Salah came off the bench to net his country's second goal.

The opening loss to Brazil will sting, but my money is on Egypt to be the second team to make it out of Group B.

Brazil

Starting XI: Neto, Rafael, Thiago Silva, Juan Jesus, Sandro, Marcelo, Romulo, Leandrio Damiao, Oscar, Neymar, Hulk.

This Brazil side is absolutely stacked with world-class talent, and their embarrassment of riches has them as the odds-on favorite to take home the gold.

At the back, arguably the finest center-back in the world, Thiago Silva, is the rock and captain. Rafael, Sandro and Marcelo are all experienced, tested, proven quality. And then, of course, there is the star power of Neymar, Oscar, Hulk and Leandro Damiao.

That's only in the starting lineup. On the bench, Mario Menezes can turn to the creative and coveted Ganso or Alexandre Pato, who has been a top striker at AC Milan for years.

If one team has gold written all over it, it is definitely this one.

Medal Predictions

Taking into account the rosters of all 16 teams, here's who will go home with a medal around their neck:

Gold medal: Brazil

There's just so much scintillating talent in this team from top to bottom that it is difficult to envision anyone else coming away with the gold.

Silver medal: Uruguay

Uruguay could certainly win the tournament with their own set of stars, but their team is just not quite as thoroughly stacked as Brazil's.

Bronze medal: Spain

Losing tournaments is almost unheard of today for Spain, but their under-23s just don't have that same swagger as the big boys. They might yet round into form, but this team just doesn't have the look of a champion.

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