GHANA

Squandering talent?

The only African nation ever to win an Olympic soccer medal, Ghana is looking to improve upon its third-place finish in 1992. But infighting among team stars, endless coaching changes and indifferent results during the Olympic qualifying tournament leave the Black Meteors an enigma.

Ghana, which enters its fifth Olympic tournament, will rely heavily on experienced European exiles such as defender Ossi M. Kuffour (Germany), former George Mason star Joe Addo (Germany), who is the team’s only overage player, midfielder Emmanuel Duah (Turkey), and forwards Ebenezer Hagan (Greece), Charles Akunnor (Germany) and Nii Welbeck (Switzerland), not to mention six members of Ghana’s squad that reached the finals of the 1993 World Youth Championship.

But coach Sam Arday, Ghana’s seventh coach in the last four years, has struggled to find a set lineup. Ghana’s inability to meld at the senior level is also reaching epidemic proportions. The team has not won the African Nations Cup since 1982, squandering the most talented lineup in this year’s tournament to finish a disappointing fourth, and an 8-2 whipping by Brazil’s under-23 team earlier this year was humiliating.

History: 4 appearances (1 bronze: 1992).

Qualifying: Congo (forfeit), Angola 3-1, 0-1, Cameroon 3-0, 0-0.

ITALY

The pressure mounts

With Italian soccer in disarray following the bitter disappointment of Euro ’96, Italy is suddenly placing new-found emphasis on its Olympic team.

That’s why overage stars such as goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca, defender Marco Branca and midfielder Massimo Crippa have been grafted onto an Azzurri team that already rates as one of the best in the world.

But Italy has not won an Olympic medal since taking gold in 1936, and coach Cesare Maldini is not taking any chances this time around. Italy won the 1996 European under-21 championship — its third straight title — behind a squad that features Serie A stars such as defender Christian Panucci (AC Milan), midfielder and forward Marco Delvecchio (Roma).

Maldini is without Juventus star Alessandro Del Piero, who was nabbed by Italy’s national team for Euro ’96.

Maldini will face enormous pressure in the Olympics. A repeat of Italy’s seventh-place finish in 1992 won’t quite cut it.

History: 10 appearances (1 gold: 1936, 1 bronze: 1928).

Qualifying: Slovenia 1-1, 1-0, Estonia 4-1, 7-0, Lithuania 2-0, 0-0, Ukraine 2-1, 1-2, Croatia 2-1, 2-2, Portugal 0-1, 2-0.

MEXICO

Bora is back

What began as a junior team in the care of Mexican coach Carlos de los Cobos has now become something quite more, prompting Bora Milutinovic to appoint himself as co-coach of the Olympic team and stuff as many overage superstars onto the roster as possible.

Goalkeeper Jorge Campos, forward Luis Garcia and defender Claudio Suarez started every game for Mexico at the 1994 World Cup.

Milutinovic borrowed so many U-23 players in winning the Gold Cup and U.S. Cup that it’s become increasingly difficult to tell where his team left off and de los Cobos’ began.

The annihilation of its CONCACAF foes at the qualifying tournament in May indicates Mexico is serious this time around. Assuming they get to touch the ball, what with Campos and Garcia hogging it all the time, under-23 regulars German Villa, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Raul Rodrigo Lara are expected to shine.

History: 7 appearances.

Qualifying: Panama 5-0, 4-0, El Salvador 3-0, Costa Rica 4-0, Trinidad & Tobago 2-0, Jamaica 2-1, Canada 1-0.

SOUTH KOREA

Overdue for a win

South Korea is making its third straight appearance in the Olympic finals —
the best streak ever by an Asian nation — but the Koreans’ inability to get beyond the first round is troubling. In fact, South Korea has never even won an Olympic soccer match, and it’s been since 1948 that a unified Korean team posted a victory, beating Mexico, 5-3.

This year should be different. South Korea finished first in the Asian qualifying tournament and its U-23 team has been holding its own in warm-up matches all over the world.

The team is coached by a winner — Anatoly Byshovets, the Russian who guided the Soviet Union to a gold medal at the 1988 Olympics. Forward Choi Young Su is the top player, scoring both goals in a 2-1 win over Iraq that clinched a berth in Atlanta, then adding the decider in the final win over Japan.

Over-age forward Hwang Sun Hong is a World Cup alum who’s best known for scoring eight goals against Nepal in the 1994 Asian Games.

History: 5 appearances.

Qualifying: Hong Kong 5-0, 7-0, Indonesia 2-1, 1-0, Saudi Arabia 1-1, Kazakhstan 2-1, China 3-0, Iraq 2-1, Japan 2-1.