Olympic Soccer 2012: Assessing the Tactics of the 8 Men's Quarterfinalists

The Olympic soccer will now move into the quarterfinal stage where things will really start to heat up.

The pedestrian teams, such as New Zealand, United Arab Emirates and Belarus, have exited the competition, so from here it's top matchups with real talent.

We're starting to see a picture of who might be in with a shout of a medal, so read on to see how each of the eight quarterfinalists like to play.

Great Britain

Great Britain have, quite frankly, been a breath of fresh air.

The football they are playing is nothing even remotely similar to the style the British Isles have become accustomed to, and the late Gary Speed takes great credit in my book for starting the revolution.

It was he who had the Welsh national team playing some wonderful football before his untimely death, and it was he who instilled good footballing technique into a floundering country's game.

The Welsh in Team GB have rubbed off on the English, and Stuart Pearce has cleverly harnessed that to spark a mini-revolution.

Is it a 4-3-3? Is it a 4-5-1? Who cares. Great Britain play good, free-flowing football.

The full-backs push forward nicely and the passing triangles between Ryan Giggs, Tom Cleverley and Joe Allen are superb. Pearce has options on the bench and can stretch games late on with the pace of Scott Sinclair and Daniel Sturridge.

The match against the United Arab Emirates was a wonderful example of a good, controlling performance coupled with the right changes to secure the win.

Brazil

Mano Menezes has opted for a fluid 4-3-3 for his Brazil side that, now Spain have taken a surprising exit, are favourites to grab the gold medal.

Neymar and Hulk operate as inverted wingers while Sandro, Romulo and Oscar form a hardworking, interchangeable midfield three.

Two of Menezes' overage picks were "spent" on central defenders Juan and Thiago Silva, providing the team with a solid and dependable base, while the ball-hungry and technically superior midfielder never fail to control a game.

Brazil have that all-important spark in Neymar—a player who can conjure something out of nothing. He showed this with his free kick against Belarus, drawing his side level in a game they were struggling to find their way into.

Japan

Japan are an interesting team to watch as they're clearly a rising force.

They have established stars not participating in the Olympics such as Shinji Kagawa and Yuto Nagatomo, while Hiroshi Kiyotake and Hiroki Sakai are just beginning their European football careers.

They more than matched Spain in their shock win, utilising a high-pressure game which didn't allow La Roja's fledglings to settle.

They had enough chances to score 10, so profligacy could be an issue. They look good on the counter and want to win the ball high up the pitch.

Three clean sheets? Highly commendable. Japan could be the dark horses of the tournament.

South Korea

Like Japan, South Korea are starting to produce some certifiable stars.

Park Chu-Young and Ki Sung-Yeung grab the headlines as existing European footballing stars, but Kim Bo-Kyung can't be far behind.

They utilise a slightly stranger version of the 4-3-3, keeping the ball on the deck at the back and allowing two central midfield shuttlers to dart back from an advanced position to receive the ball in space.

Off the ball, South Korea use constant high pressure to force errors and discomfort. This was especially evident against Mexico, who ultimately failed to exercise any degree of control under such duress.

Mexico

Mexico set themselves out to keep the ball and retain possession.

Veteran defender and 103-cap stalwart Carlos Salcido anchors the back line while Miguel Ponce provides trickery and width from the left flank.

Giovani dos Santos, Mexico's star player, is the one who makes them tick offensively, and his presence was sorely missed in their first match against South Korea.

He's bagged two goals since earning his starting role, and he is pivotal in Mexico's fluid formation. It drops to a 4-5-1 when out of possession, but borders on a 4-2-4 when in full flow.

Whichever way you call it, Mexico are dazzling when at their best.

Egypt

Who better to help preview Egypt than Bleacher Report's own Egyptian Featured Columnist Mohamed Al-Hendy?

Egypt have generally lined up in a 4-3-3. Mohamed Aboutrika and Mohamed Salah line up on either side of a centre-forward, and in this tournament that's typically been Emad Moteab.

The midfield three are limited, so guys like Shehab Ahmed and Mohamed El-Nenny are cautious, holding midfielders. They present the ball to Aboutrika and Salah and let them do the damage. 

Ahmed Fathi and Islam Ramadan are good full-backs, but don't fulfil much of an offensive role for Egypt.

Honduras

Honduras haven't exactly wowed us with great football so far, but they do have one crucial ingredient that results in success: a prolific striker.

Jerry Bengtson, the New England Revolution star, has been on fire this summer. The 25-year-old has bagged three goals in three games, including a winner against Spain.

That game against the world champions showed the world how resolute Honduras can be, and despite the lack of fluency in their buildup play frustrating objective viewers, it only takes one ball into the box for Bengtson to score.

Their quarterfinal matchup against Brazil is incredibly tough, but a just reward for their efforts and an opportunity to acquit themselves in the best possible manner in front of a global audience.

Senegal

Senegal, like Honduras, appear reliant on a single key man.

Moussa Konate leads the goalscoring charts with four in just three games, topping Jerry Bengtson and the rest with at least one more to play.

He's scored a variety of goals, showing he's a well-rounded forward. He bundled one in against Uruguay, but scored off an incisive, dangerous run against Great Britain.

The rest of the team are, simply put, giants. It was apparent during their first fixture with Team GB that they nearly all stand at over six feet tall.

They are, for the most part, aerially dominant and aggressive in the challenge. They play to stifle and nullify, then to look for a counterattack and narrow win thanks to Konate's goalscoring prowess.