Álvarez, Marta and midweek matches: why football at the Olympics is worth watching

What we have always said here on Football Daily is that the world needs more football tournaments. Oh yes. You’ve had your European Championships and your Copa Américas this summer but the fun does not have to end in mid-July because there is football at Big Sports Day still to take place. Sometimes in good ol’ Blighty this competition is overlooked because it is definitely not the most valued of all the trinkets and rarely do superstars play. Long jumpers, shot putters and joggers all rightly think a shiny gold medal and a five-ring tattoo are the epitome of sporting success but football has never held that view.

Great Britain forgets about the tournament’s existence because it will not be represented thanks to bureaucracy and goal difference. The last time a GB men’s team did show up, Stuart Pearce was manager and Scott Sinclair was on the wing. Needless to say, it did not go well and they were eliminated at the quarter-finals stage by South Korea, failing to go higher, be faster or stronger. The women’s side had the same issue in 2012, although Canada were the victors. They made the quarter-finals at Tokyo 2020 but were flamin’ turfed out by Australia. All these losses were greeted with an almighty shrug at the time given that no one really bothers to watch the competition in the UK.

But not everyone is as miserable as the Brits, some people actually really want to be part of it. Julián Álvarez, fresh from the Copa América, will lead the line for Argentina and Álex Baena arrives pretty much straight from a Euros triumph in search of more mantelpiece decorations. The South Americans are very keen to bring back some gold; Lionel Messi has a shiny medal from 2008 but matters since have superseded this fact. Brazil’s legendary Marta is back for one final push for success having won two silvers down the years. She will bow out from the international game at the conclusion of Paris 2024, adding a little thrill to viewers. And the world’s best player Aitana Bonmatí will be leading Spain’s charge, bringing plenty of star quality to the event. There will be matches in Paris but other venues spread from Nantes to Nice, taking the tournament a little further than the rest of Big Sports Day, spreading the joy of athletic excellence.

Things start on Wednesday when Spain’s men take on Uzbekistan, in a clash no one anticipated at a major tournament, Argentina play Morocco in the mid-afternoon sun. It might not be A-list but no one will be complaining about winning, putting them on par with Messi, and few can say they are an Olympic champion, plus most of it is on midweek in the middle of the afternoon and that is the procrastinator’s dream.

His quality in training has been unreal, so we’re all very excited to see him pull on the shirt and grace the Fairfield turf later on this season” – Hurstpierpoint Football Club of the Mid Sussex Football League announce on TwiXer that they have brought Gareth Barry out of retirement, kind of. The village team are managed by Barry’s friend Michael Standing.

Re: your timely warning to clubs about splashing the cash on a player on the back of one good international tournament (Friday’s Football Daily letters). This surely cannot be allowed to pass without mention of John ‘Johnny’ Jensen? I was there when he scored, you know, and I’ve got the T-shirt to prove it” – Peter Storch.

Following his release by Sunderland, I notice Harrison Sohna has joined Cheltenham. Presumably he’s been on their radar for a while” – Darian Boyd.

People seem to be getting their new season football shorts in a twist (Football Daily letters passim). Let’s make it easy … the old season ended, and has now gone. The cricket season started. Mind the gap. Soon, the new football season will start. That’s it. Hope that helps” – David Sheldrake.

Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winner is … David Sheldrake. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here.

Joey Barton has been charged with making malicious communications on his X account relating to pundit and footballer player Eni Aluko.

In news that won’t sit well with Jack Grealish, Manchester City are weighing up an approach for Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze amid growing uncertainty over the future of Kevin De Bruyne.

Ché Adams is just a cough for the doctor away from joining Torino on a free transfer after his Southampton contract expired.

Marseille are this close to signing Pierre-Emile Højbjerg from Tottenham for £17m.

Bournemouth owner Bill Foley would not support any plan to play Premier League games outside England. “We should play in the UK,” he yelped. “That is where [matches] belong. I am very respectful of our fans and the whole system.”

The match in the Norwegian top-flight between Rosenborg and Lillestrom on Sunday was abandoned after 30 minutes when – and you’ll like this – fishcakes stopped play. Yep, fans joined forces to protest against VAR by lobbing tennis balls and fishy food on to the pitch to the extent that the referee called it off.

And Kuwaiti Premier League club Kazma are demanding an apology after discovering that their 7-1 friendly win over Telephonat Beni Suef was rendered meaningless by the fact their Egyptian opponents were actually a group of amateurs unconnected with the club. “Unfortunately, the company was deceived by the representative of the Telephonat Beni Suef club, who later turned out to have no connection to the club,” fumed StarMaker Football, who organised the training camp in Alexandria where the match took place.

There are unique solo goals and then there is what Portsmouth’s Ryley Towler managed to pull off during their 3-0 pre-season triumph at Havant on Friday night. The defender picked up the ball just outside his own penalty area – a tidy sideways-pass assist from the keeper – and was allowed to venture forward unchallenged into the opposition half, before crafting a 45-yard clip into the top corner. “I know that Ryley has got that drive from deep and we’ve seen that confidence from him in pre-season, although I’m not sure I can honestly say I thought he had that finish in him,” tooted boss John Mousinho.

Get your very own copies of David Squires’s cartoons in our printshop.

Jamie Jackson previews Manchester United’s pre-season tour of the US and lists five things to look out for.

Suzy Wrack on the challenge ahead for Emma Hayes as the USWNT attempt to bounce back from a dismal World Cup at Big Sports Day.

And follow every deal in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France, in the men’s and women’s games, via our whizzy transfer interactive guides.

Well done, he’s just landed. Michael Owen looks delighted to be featuring in a fan’s selfie at Changi airport, having just disembarked with Liverpool for their July 2001 pre-season trip to Singapore and Thailand. He did manage to score in their opening 2-0 win over a Singapore XI and again found the target in a 3-1 victory over the Thai national team.