Stuart Pearce's British Olympic football team have been drawn to play a Uruguay side likely to feature Luis Suárez and Diego Forlán, as well as Senegal and the United Arab Emirates.
A Team GB side potentially featuring David Beckham will face Uruguay in their final Group A game at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 1 August. Their first match will be against Senegal at Old Trafford on 26 July and they will play United Arab Emirates on 29 July at Wembley.
Pearce revealed he would be travelling to the United States to see Beckham, now with the Los Angeles Galaxy, but insisted there were no guarantees of inclusion.
He told BBC Sport: "[I will pick] solely on merit. It's the only way any manager picks a squad or a team and I will do exactly the same.
"I will know a bit more when I go to the States to see what form [Beckham] is in, he's made the shortlist and he has been a great ambassador for this country and the Olympics, but that's no recommendation that he will get in the squad and that's fair and square across the board for all players."
The London 2012 chairman Lord Coe was adamant that Pearce would be free to pick his squad purely on sporting considerations, notwithstanding the obvious appeal of Beckham.
"This is absolutely for Stuart Pearce [to decide]. He must pick the team on merit and whatever team Stuart picks will attract a lot of attention."
Asked if it was important that the squad should feature players from all four home nations, Coe added: "If possible that's important, but again [it must be] on merit. You don't select your teams on a quota basis, you select on merit."
In Group B, Mexico will face Switzerland, South Korea and Gabon. Brazil will join Belarus, New Zealand and Egypt in Group C. Spain, Japan, Honduras and Morocco make up Group D.
Appearing in the Olympics for the first time since 1960, the formation of the British side has been controversial, with opposition from the home nations. Gareth Bale of Wales and Steven Fletcher of Scotland are among the players who could be selected for the combined squad.
Hope Powell's women's side have been drawn against Brazil, Cameroon and New Zealand, who will provide the opposition for the first event of London 2012 on 25 July at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Japan, the 2010 women's World Cup champions, were drawn against Sweden, South Africa and Canada. In the third group, the USA will take on France, Colombia and – intriguingly – North Korea.
"The position of football in the Olympic Games often generates a great deal of debate. Four years ago I saw just how much esteem the players, both men and women, hold the competition in," said Zhang Jilong, the Fifa ex-co member who was sporting director for the last Olympic Games in Beijing and will oversee the London tournament on behalf of the world governing body. The draw was made by the Fifa secretary general Jérôme Valcke, assisted by Robbie Savage, Mel C, Kevin Gallagher, the England striker Kelly Smith and Brazil's former world footballer of the year Ronaldo.
The London 2012 organisers hope that Tuesday's high-profile draw will spark a new rush for tickets, with around 1.5m still to be sold across both tournaments.
"We've already sold 1m tickets," said Coe. "That's a great indication of the appetite for the national game. As we put our finishing touches to our testing processes in football, we will have the remaining tickets on sale at the beginning of May. The remaining Olympic and Paralympic tickets will follow on from there. It's a unique opportunity to share in the spirit of the Games and say, simply, 'I was there.'"
One Locog insider said that around 15,000 tickets had been sold for the opening match – the first official Olympic action, two days before the opening ceremony. But they expect that now the draw has been made interest in tickets for the match between the British women's team and New Zealand will increase.
The games will take place around the country at Wembley, Old Trafford, the Millennium Stadium, St James' Park, the City of Coventry Stadium and Hampden Park.
Organisers hope it will increase enthusiasm for the Games around the country. "The bid was very clear – to, where possible, enshrine the Games not only in London but throughout the UK. We are a football loving nation," said Coe.
The men's tournament is an under-23 event, with each squad of 18 allowed three overage players. There are no age restrictions on the women's tournament.
The Football Association is believed to be in talks with Brazil, fellow seeds, as a potential opponent for a high-profile pre-Games friendly at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium the weekend before the Olympics. Sweden, who could not be drawn against Team GB in the group stage, are under consideration as a potential opponent for Hope Powell's women's side on the same weekend.
The guessing game over who will make the Team GB squad, and in particular the identity of the three over-age players, will continue. It will be accompanied by a likely escalation in the simmering war between Premier League managers and the FA over the tournament's timing and which of their players should take part. The current long list of 80 has to be cut to 35 by 8 June, with the final squad of 18 (plus four reserves) submitted to Fifa by 6 July.
Men's draw:
Group A
Great Britain, Senegal, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay
Group B
Mexico, Switzerland, South Korea, Gabon
Group C
Brazil, Belarus, New Zealand, Egypt
Group D
Spain, Japan, Honduras, Morocco
Women's draw:
Group E
Great Britain, Cameroon, New Zealand, Brazil
Group F
Japan, Sweden, South Africa, Canada
Group G
USA, France, Colombia, Korea DPR
ロンドン五輪のサッカーのグループリーグのドローが行われ、男子の４つのグループ、女子の３つのグループが決まった。
男子はイギリス、メキシコ、ブラジル、スペインがシード、女子はイギリス、日本、アメリカがシード。
男子はスペイン、ホンジュラス、モロッコと同組でスペインが頭一つ抜けている状態。日本はモロッコ、ホンジュラスと２位争いをする立場にある。
女子はスウェーデン、南アフリカ、カナダと同組でここでは日本が抜けている。１位抜けが有力視される。
男子は各組２位までがノックアウトラウンドに、女子は各組２位＋３位の上位２チームがノックアウトラウンドに進出する。
個人的な意見でいえば、男子は組み合わせに恵まれた感じではあるが、メダルには届かないかな。女子はアメリカだけがトップレベルで上ばかり見ていては足をすくわれるけれども、決勝に焦点を定めていてもいいのではとは思う。
もちろん、男子にチャンスがないわけでなないし、女子も一戦一戦が大事だけれどね。
大事なことは目標へ向けてどうアプローチするかだね。
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