Olympic Soccer Live Stream: Must-See Group Play Matches

The soccer gold is going to be one of the most hotly contested gold medals at the 2012 Olympics. While the action to determine the gold medal winner started two days before the opening ceremonies, there is still plenty of compelling group-play action to be had before advancing to the elimination stage. 

Group play will continue until Wednesday, August 1, and here are some of the more interesting matches left on the schedule. 

Check out the full schedule of matches here. 

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com

Men's 

Brazil vs. Belarus on Sunday, July 29 at 10 a.m. ET

Brazil, the gold medal favorites, should have little trouble advancing out of Group C, but they looked less than dominant posting a 3-2 win over Egypt in their opener. 

In that match, they got out to a strong 3-0 lead in the first half, but then allowed two second-half scores without netting one themselves. Maybe this was a case of overconfidence lulling them to sleep, or maybe it was a sign that this team is not as strong as people anticipated. This match should go a long way toward giving us the answer.

Belarus should not be able to beat Brazil, but if Brazil continues playing like they did in the second half against Egypt, they will lose. 

Belarus looked solid with a 1-0 win in their opener over New Zealand. 

Great Britain vs. Uruguay on Wednesday, August 1 at 2:45 p.m. ET

Great Britain entered group play with the hopes of the host nation sitting firmly on them. They didn't get off to a confidence-inducing start with a lackluster draw against Senegal.

This puts them in a tough spot in Group A with the United Arab Emirates up on Sunday, and then this match against a talented Uruguay squad.

Great Britain could very well enter this match needing a win to advance—Uruguay is not going to make this easy on them. This one will be loaded with drama, and the stadium will definitely be rocking. 

Women's 

USA vs. North Korea on Tuesday, July 31 at 12:15 ET

The U.S. women have looked fantastic rolling out to a 2-0 record in group play, and they shouldn't have too many problems winning this one. 

North Korea is 1-1 in group play, but they are fresh off of a 5-0 drubbing to a France squad the Americans have already beaten. 

This match will still be a blast to watch, as the Americans look better than ever, and they are putting a high-quality product on the field. 

Also, interesting events seem to follow this North Korean team. In the 2010 World Cup, they were involved in a doping scandal that, as the Associated Press tells us:

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Team officials said that was a result of the players being treated with musk deer gland therapy after getting struck by lightning during a training camp.

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Then, in their opener for these Olympics, a South Korean flag was shown alongside one of their players on the stadium's video board. 

So stay tuned. One way or another, this one is bound to be interesting.