The Japanese Olympic football team will play two friendly matches at home against the Argentine national team in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics.
The first match will take place at the Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo on March 26, before the two teams meet again three days later in Fukuoka. The Japan Football Association announced that it is hosting the friendly matches following the government's lifting of the ban on the entry of foreign athletes and obtaining a special exemption.
The Nikkei newspaper reported last week that athletes participating in this year's Tokyo Olympics can start entering Japan after the state of emergency is lifted this month.
Authorities will lift the state of emergency on March 7, followed immediately by the removal of the ban on the entry of foreign athletes. The report stated that Olympic athletes will not have to undergo two weeks of self-isolation upon arriving in Japan to help them prepare for the games, scheduled to start on July 23, but must adhere to staying in their residences and sporting facilities. It is noteworthy that Argentina, the Olympic champion in 2004 and 2008, qualified for the Tokyo Games alongside Brazil from South America.
