With the opening ceremony just two days away and the football competition kicking into gear, the Olympic Games should be drowning in unbridled optimism and competitive spirit.

With the opening ceremony just two days away and the football competition kicking into gear, the Olympic Games should be drowning in unbridled optimism and competitive spirit. But whilst Sydney attempts to accentuate the positive, three further athletes have tested positive for banned steroids as drugs continue to cloud the final preparations. Taiwanese weightlifter Chen Po-pu, Bulgaria's triple jumper Iva Prandzheva and Kazakhstan freestyle swimmer Yevgenia Yermakova are the latest names on the roll call of shame, but organisers and competitors alike will be striving to focus on the challenges ahead and shrug off such pitiful news. The true spirit of the Games burst into life on Wednesday as 92,000 exuberant fans packed into the Melbourne Cricket Ground today to see Australia's men's football team lock horns with European champions Italy. The Matildas, the host nation's female equivalent, were beaten 3-0 by Germany in front of a capacity Canberra crowd earlier on Wednesday, and the Socceroos narrowly failed to reverse that trend at the MCG. The tactics of Australia's coach Raul Blanco worked perfectly for 81 minutes as Italy's flair and artistry was stifled by Aussie endeavour. However, a fortuitous strike from Andrea Pirlo, whose miscued shot struck the post and span over the goal-line, brought victory for the European Under-21 champions and negated all of Australia's fine work.