A quarter-finals of an Olympic Games need little extra motivation, but they never hurt. The game will have one more: the public returns to the stands. The reason is that the Spain-Ivory Coast this Saturday (10:00 am, La1) is held at the Miyagi Stadium, which is located in Rifu, a town that belongs to the Miyagi prefecture.
The restrictions on COVID, as happens in Spain with the Autonomous Communities, change depending on the prefecture. Almost all sports are being played in Tokyo, where the public is not allowed in the stands. However, in Miyagi it is different: up to 15% of the capacity is allowed, on the condition that they never exceed 5,000 followers. The stadium has a capacity of 49,000, so the limit is set at 5,000 (15% would be 7,350). The Japanese have sold out all available seats to see such an attractive match. The time is unbeatable: 17:00 in Japan.
It is the second game with an audience that Spain disputes in Japanese lands, because the previous friendly against Japan in Kobe also had 5000 fans in the stands. A fact that the players appreciate, because little by little they get used to the atmosphere in the stadiums again.