One of the Beijing Olympic’s most anticipated events is soccer. The tournament to crown an Olympic champion in the world’s most popular sports will run the duration of the Games. Matches will be hosted in Beijing, but also in Shanghai and Tianjin, bringing some of the excitement of the Olympics to other regions of soccer crazy China.

The announcement that two of Brazil’s biggest stars will be part of their nation’s squad has brought a bit more buzz to the Olympics. Robinho and Ronaldinho, both stars on the national team and on their Spanish club teams, will be making the trip to Beijing with Brazil’s other footballers. These choices have to make Brazil one of the early favorites for gold.

But Brazil won’t be on top of the podium on August 23rd if Argentina and their young star Lionel Messi have anything to say about it. The blue chip winger is one of the game’s best players, and Argentina has one of the best under -23 teams in the world. Beating them will not be impossible, but will be quite difficult, even for powerhouse Brazil.

China has lofty goals. At least, coach Ratomir Dujkovic does. He was successful at the 2006 World Cup, when he led upstart Ghana past group play and into the knockout stage. The task will be a little bit tougher in China. They will have to win over New Zealand in their opening match, and then oust Belgium before taking on Brazil. The Chinese squad will need to win at least two games to guarantee themselves a spot in the next stage of the tournament. That’s a tall order for a team that was just knocked out of qualifying for the World Cup 2010 at a very early stage.

Upstarts New Zealand are entering their first major international competition with high hopes. It will be a major upset if they win more than one match during group play, but the team has plenty of players with high-level club experience.

The soccer event should receive unprecedented attention during the Beijing Olympics. While the Games will be centered in Beijing, different legs of the soccer competition will be played at major cities across the PRC. Shanghai, China’s most populous and economically successful city will play a major role in hosting matches, as will Beijing’s sister city Tianjin. This decision was made by China’s Olympic committee so that more citizens could experience the games.

There is lots of excitement in China, especially since the national team has drawn Brazil in the opening group phase. European powerhouses Netherlands and Italy will be part of the action as well.

While the Olympics is not soccer’s most prized tournament, people in China and the entire Asia Pacific region are crazy about the sport. There are two or three quality teams in each group and there is always a surprise in the Olympics. Remember the embattled, under funded national team from Iraq and their unbelievable run in the 2004 Athens tournament?

China’s national team has not qualified for the Olympics in a while, but they have been able to hold their own in international competition and might be able to feed off the hometown crowds to score a couple of unexpected victories. African teams like Cameroon and Ivory Coast will probably prove quite dangerous as well.

Japan and South Korea, both neighbors of China, should bring a strong following to the games. Both teams have performed well in international competition recently and probably have a greater chance of success than the host country.

Team USA has had limited success in the Olympics and, with perennial favorites from Argentina and Brazil in the mix, will be lucky to make it to the knockout stage. Soccer is the one event that runs for the entire length of the games, so there will always be a match to watch.