Mark Viduka

Brazil and Nigeria are the teams to beat and arguably the most attractive of the 16, although, the whole tournament promises to be one of the most entertaining in recent history. Prime-time viewing figures for the Champions League in this country over the coming fortnight, compared to crack-of-dawn slots from Sydney, will undoubtedly provide ammunition for those who believe football should be withdrawn from the Games. But, according to the Sydney Olympic Games Organising Committee (SOCOG), at least 1.2 million people will watch the 32 matches in the men's tournament, and you can't argue with that.

Brazil start as favourites to win Olympic gold for the first time in their history but coach Wanderley Luxemburgo, who also coaches the full international side, is under considerable pressure at home to win the tournament for both personal and professional reasons. Brazil have made an average start to their World Cup qualifying campaign and failure in Sydney - which means anything less than gold - could signal the end of Luxemburgo's reign. He is also facing a possible prison sentence for alleged tax evasion and has been summoned for a court hearing on October 16. On the eve of the tournament, though, he could afford a smile after Brazil strolled through their final Olympic warm-up with a 4-0 win over local side Marconi with two goals from Lucas and one each from Ronaldinho and Giovanni.

The main threat to Brazil's title chances should come from Nigeria, Australia, Italy, Spain and Chile, while Slovakia should not be underestimated. The host nation's chances have diminished slightly following injuries to Harry Kewell of Leeds United, Paul Okon of Middlesbrough, and goalkeeper Joe Didulica of Ajax Amsterdam. They suffered another setback on Sunday when Derby County's newly signed defender Con Blatsis suffered a a thigh injury. Coach Raul Blanco, however, has been boosted by the arrival of Leeds' striker Mark Viduka, claiming: "His mere presence here just lifts everyone around him. He's an immense talent and we have not seen the best of him yet."

Gabri

Italy, who are taking the Olympic Games so seriously that the start of Serie A has been delayed until October 1, are good enough to win gold, although their preparations have been disrupted by a bout of flu. Marco Zanchi, Massimo Ambrosini, Luca Mezzano, Roberto Baronio and goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis were the worst hit, but coach Marco Tardelli has enough strength in depth at his disposal to survive the opening group matches, with or without his best players.

Spain, bidding to repeat their 1992 Olympic gold medal success in Barcelona, warmed up with a 7-0 win over South Australia State with Barcelona's Gabri and AC Milan striker Jose Mari scoring two each. Espanyol's Raul Tamudo marred the victory by getting sent off 16 minutes from time, although that won't keep him out of the tournament proper. Spain have been drawn in the same group as dark horses Korea.

Nigeria, who four years ago became the first African nation to win a global football title when they took Olympic gold at Atlanta, are certainly capable of repeating that success, despite being caught up in a frustrating club-versus-country dispute. Nwankwo Kanu, the inspiration behind their 1996 final success against Argentina, pulled out of the Olympic Games last week, preferring to play for his club side Arsenal, while VfL Wolfsburg refused Jonathan Akboporie permission to play.

Garba Lawal

Midfielder Garba Lawal, one of the gold-medal heroes of '96, predicts a tough ride for Nigeria this time around. "I am not a prophet of doom, but defending the Olympic gold will not be easy," said the Roda JC Kerkrade midfielder. "Our team is not bad, but we have to have a real belief in ourselves and know that we can fight back if we go behind as we did against Brazil and Argentina in 1996. When we won four years ago we took the world by surprise. Nobody expected it. Now it's different - we are the team everyone want to beat."

USA are favourites for the women's gold medal although the Australians should give them a run for their money. China and Norway are the other two fancied nations, although neither possess the strength in depth or quality of the Americans or the host nation. Ten of the USA squad who won a first ever Olympic football gold medal for women in Atlanta four years ago are included in the Sydney 2000 squad. And since Atlanta, women's soccer has blossomed to the extent in the US where the women are even better known than the men's team.

The US, though, have been drawn in an extremely difficult group with China, Norway and Nigeria. China finished second to the US at the previous two major tournaments and are understandably anxious to turn the tables. Norway are the form team in women's football this year and beat both the US and China during the run-up to the Games. Nigeria are, on paper, the weakest of the big four but have enough quality players to upset at least one of the more fancied teams.

Matches are being held in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra but the host city is staging a number of matches including the final in the main Olympic Stadium on September 30.

Sportlist predictions:

Men: Gold Brazil, Silver Spain;
Women: Gold USA, Silver China