THE Dominican Republic are one of the great stories of the men's Olympic football tournament this summer and will be desperate to make the most of their big moment in the Group C opener against Egypt.
The Dominicans are playing at the Olympics for the first time and it's all down to a memorable run at the 2022 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship that saw them finish as surprise runners-up.
El Salvador, Jamaica and Guatemala were all seen off during the run that final but the Dominican Republican found the step up in class too big in the showpiece as they lost 6-0 to the USA.
That was enough to book their ticket to the Paris Games though and the Central Americans will savour every second of their adventure at the Olympics.
With Spain, Egypt and Uzbekistan in their group, a place in the knockout stages is highly unlikely and they're rank outsiders against the North African side in the opening game.
Egypt have much more experience at the Olympics, gracing the football tournament 13 times, and after finishing second at the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations they will be targeting the quarter-finals at least.
How the bookies view it: Dominican Republic written off
It's hard to see a shock in this one and Betfred make the Dominican Republic 11/1 outsiders, with Egypt the hot 1/6 favourites. The draw is also pretty hefty at 5/1.
Head to head: History will be made
With the Dominican Republic never gracing a major international finals before it's no surprise that they've never faced Egypt before. So this match will go down in the history books.
Players to watch: Adel could be on song
Ibrahim Adel scored a double for Egypt in their final warm-up game against Iraq so should get the nod to play in the opener. The forward, who plays in his homeland for Pyramids, will fancy his chances against the Dominicans.
Angel Montes de Oca was the main man for the Dominican Republic in their run to the CONCACAF final, netting three times in the knockout stages. The attacking midfielder could cause a few problems for Egypt's defence.
Probable line-ups
The Dominican Republic have drafted in overage players with lots of experience to bolster their ranks, with Leeds United's Junior Firpo and AEL Limassol's Luiyi de Lucas tightening things up at the back.
Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny will bring a wealth of experience to the Egypt midfield along with fellow overage player Ahmed Sayed, who has 45 senior caps.
Egypt: Alaa, Fayed, Eid, El Debes, Tarek, Elneny, Sayed, Kamal, Adel, Faisal, Mazhar.
Dominican Republic: Valdez, De Lucas, Firpo, Pujol, Morschel, De La Cruz, Messina, Montes De Oca, Azcona, Nunez
Anything else catch the eye?
Thrills were guaranteed with the Dominican Republic at the CONCACAF finals, with a 5-4 win and a 2-2 draw en route to that 6-0 battering in the final. That's why over 3.5 goals is just 10/11 with Betfred for this one but it's telling that boss Ibai Gomez has called up experienced defenders as his overage players.
The likes of Firpo and De Lucas could make the Dominicans a tougher nut to crack so under 3.5 goals might be the shout instead at 4/5.
It might take time for the game to catch fire as the teams size each other up so I also like the 19/20 on offer for most goals to come after the break.
This Olympics match between Egypt and Dominican Republic will be played on Jul 24, 2024 and kick off at 16:00. Check below for our tipsters best Egypt vs Dominican Republic prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
