Sadio Mane of Senegal leaps over goalkeeper Jack Butland of Great Britain during the first-round men's soccer match between Great Britain and Senegal at Old Trafford on Thursday, July 26, in Manchester, England.The 2012 Olympics officially kick off with the opening ceremony on Friday in London, and the Games run through August 12.
Marvin Sordell of Great Britain battles with Moussa Konate of Senegal during the first-round match between Great Britain and Senegal.
Japanese fans show support for their team during the men's first-round match between Spain and Japan at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland on Thursday.
Great Britain's Craig Bellamy celebrates a goal during the first round Group A Match between Great Britain and Senegal on Thursday, July 26, in Manchester, England.
Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani, right, slips a pass under United Arab Emirates defender Abdelaziz Sanqour, left, in Manchester on Thursday. Uruguay defeated the UAE, 2-1.
Great Britain fans attend the Group A Match between Great Britain and Senegal on Thursday in Manchester.
Gabon's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, right, celebrates after scoring a goal during the men's soccer match against Switzerland on Thursday in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.
An open double-deck bus carries the Olympic torch down Oxford Street on Thursday in London. The grand finale will see the torch enter the Olympic Stadium, the last stage in a 70-day relay around the United Kingdom, and set the Olympic cauldron aflame Friday, symbolizing the beginning of the Games.
Morocco's Houssine Kharja, right, controls the ball against Honduras' Roger Espinoza during a first-round Group D match Thursday in Glasgow, Scotland.
Ismail Matar, center, of the United Arab Emirates celebrates with his teammates after scoring in a first-round Group A match against Uruguay on Thursday in Manchester, England.
Spain's Juan Mata, left, challenges Hotaru Yamaguchi of Japan during a group D soccer match Thursday in Glasgow.
The ExCeL exhibition center, one of the Olympic venues, is gearing up Thursday on the eve of the Games' opening ceremony.
Yuki Otsu of Japan is tackled by Inigo Martinez of Spain during a first-round Group D soccer match Thursday in Glasgow. A Mexican fan watches the men's soccer match Thursday between Mexico and South Korea in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Spain's Inigo Martinez, left, fouls Kensuke Nagai of Japan during the match Thursday.
Spain's Martinez gets a red card and is ejected during Thursday's match against Japan.
Spectators take pictures Thursday at the Olympic Village in London.
Abdelaziz Barrada of Morocco celebrates after scoring during a Group D soccer match against Honduras on Thursday in Glasgow.
Security personnel patrol in front of Olympic Park in London on Thursday, a day ahead of the opening ceremony. Security concerns surfaced when a private contractor failed to provide enough staff. As a result, the government is deploying 18,200 troops to remedy the shortfall.
The Honduras men's soccer team celebrates after scoring a goal against Morocco during a first-round match Thursday.
Honduras' Jose Velasquez, left, gets challenged by Zakaria Labyad of Morocco during Thursday's match.
Police patrol Westfield Stratford City shopping mall near London Olympic Park on Thursday.
Spectators gather as the Olympic torch is carried from Islington Town Hall on Thursday. London cheered on the torch as it made its way past the city's historic landmarks.
Amanda Clark of the U.S. sailing team chats with reporters Thursday during a press conference in Weymouth, England.
Kim Song Hui of North Korea executes a bicycle kick while challenged by Natalia Ariza of Colombia during the first-round women's football competition at Hampden Park on Wednesday, July 25, in Glasgow, Scotland.
Tower Bridge, adorned with the Olympic rings, is seen late Wednesday, two days before the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Hazleydi Rincon of Colombia and Kim Song Hui of North Korea chase the ball in a first-round women's football match.
Brazil's Marta is in action with Cameroon's goalkeeper Annette Ngo Ndom during the first-round women's football competition at Millennium Stadium on Wednesday.
North Korea's Kim Song Hui, in white, vies with Colombia's Natalia Ariza on July 25.
North Korea's Jon Myong Hwa, in white, vies with Colombia's Sandra Sepulveda, in green, and Orianica Velasquez , in yellow, during first-round women's soccer play at Hampden Park on July 25.
South African footballers hold a pennant as they line up before their first-round women's soccer match against Sweden on July 25 at The City of Coventry Stadium in Coventry, England.
North Korean soccer coach Gun Sin Ui, at center in red shirt, waits for his team's match to begin at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland, on Wednesday, July 25. The first-round match against Colombia was delayed.
North Korean official Son Kwang-ho waits for the match against Colombia to begin.
Brazil's Marta, No. 10, is tackled by Christine Manie of Cameroon during the first-round women's soccer match on July 25.
U.S. player Megan Rapinoe jumps on teammate Alex Morgan, No. 13, after Morgan scored during their Group G Olympic women's soccer match against France at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland, on Wednesday, July 25.
American Carli Lloyd celebrates with teammate Amy Le Peilbet after scoring her team's third goal.
Katie Hoyle, left, of New Zealand and teammate Betsy Hassett challenge Karen Carney of Great Britain during their match in the first round of women's soccer in the London 2012 Olympic Games at Millennium Stadium on Wednesday, July 25, in Cardiff, Wales.
Sarah Gregorius of New Zealand reacts after Karen Bardsley of Great Britain saves the ball, barring her from scoring a goal.
Britain's Stephanie Houghton celebrates a goal, adding the first point to the scoreboard, with teammate Ifeoma Diek.
An Olympic lane at the Embankment in London.
France's Louisa Necib, left, is challenged by American Carli Lloyd.
Amber Hearn of New Zealand shoots for a goal.
Casey Stoney of Great Britain goes up against Katie Hoyle of New Zealand.
Britain's Anita Asante kicks off the match with Kelly Smith between Great Britain and New Zealand.
A fan shows his support during the soccer match between Great Britain and New Zealand on Wednesday.
Fans have their choice of Great Britain merchandise before the soccer games begin.
The London Olympics logo in the equestrian arena in Greenwich, London, is seen behind a worker on a lift.
A South Korean news crew reports from in front of the Tower Bridge where Olympics Rings hang.
Badminton player Nathan Robertson poses during the handover of the Olympic Torch at Wembley Stadium two days before the Opening Ceremony.
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: London has sunny, warm weather
- NEW: The torch goes past Big Ben and other London landmarks
- NEW: U.S. lawmakers hold a moment of silence for the slain Israeli athletes
- Spain suffers a shock defeat as men's football kicks off
London (CNN) -- Sunny, warm weather embraced London on Thursday amid last-minute preparations for the Summer Olympic Games, now less than 24 hours away.
Crowds cheered on the Olympic torch as it wound its way past some of the capital's most famous landmarks.
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The torch began its journey in Britain on May 19 at Land's End, the most southwest point of England, and trekked through more than 1,000 cities, towns and villages in the United Kingdom. By the time it reaches the Olympic Stadium, 8,000 torchbearers -- both celebrities and residents alike -- will have carried it.
Early Olympic football matches continued Thursday, with men's teams playing a day after the women's teams.
Torch goes past palace, Big Ben
Runners carried the golden-colored Olympic torch past iconic London landmarks Thursday as the torch relay got ever closer to the Olympic Stadium for Friday's opening ceremony.
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After the torch passed by the 300-year-old St. Paul's Cathedral, wheelchair basketball player Ade Adepitan carried the flame across the Millennium Bridge over the River Thames.
Crowds joined British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife as the torch reached the doorstep of their Downing Street home. Next, the torch went past the Big Ben clock tower, carried by 81-year-old native Londoner Florence Rowe, who says she fondly remembers the excitement of the 1948 London Olympics.
The last major stop was Buckingham Palace, where Prince William, his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry greeted the torchbearers.
U.S. lawmakers remember Munich killings
Sixteen members of the U.S. House of Representatives held a moment of silence Thursday to honor the 11 Israeli athletes killed at the 1972 Munich Olympics and urged Olympic leaders to hold a similar moment of silence at Friday's opening ceremony.
American Jewish leaders and the widow of one of the Israeli athletes have made a similar plea.
The International Olympic Committee says it will honor the slain athletes at a ceremony in September for the 40th anniversary, but so far there are no plans for an official remembrance Friday.
The Israeli athletes were killed after eight Palestinian terrorists disguised in track suits broke into the Olympic Village in Munich, demanding the release of 200 Arab inmates from Israeli prisons.
Men's football kicks off
While the Games will officially begin with the cauldron lighting at ceremony Friday at Olympic Stadium, some events have already begun.
Thursday saw the start of the men's football competition, with global favorites Spain and Brazil playing, though not against each other.
Spain, which won the European Championship this year and the last World Cup, suffered a surprising 1-0 defeat to Japan in one of eight games scheduled Thursday.
Spain suffer shock defeat to Japan
Brazil -- which, like Spain, is considered a likely contender to win Olympic gold -- beat Egypt 3-2. Great Britain, playing football in the Olympics for the first time since 1960, scored a 1-1 draw in its match against Senegal.
Two notable absences are Argentina and the United States, neither of which qualified.
WEDNESDAY RECAP:
Border guards call off strike
British border guards called off a planned strike. A strike would have been disastrous at a time when more than 100,000 people a day are arriving at London's Heathrow Airport for the Games, and adequate security continues to be a concern.
Read more: Is the Olympics worth more than Google?
The union representing the guards said it backed off after the government agreed to create more than 1,000 jobs in response to its demands. The Home Office, which employs border staff, said it made no concessions.
North Korea walks off
Wednesday was also a day of women's football matches. North Korea's team walked off the pitch before its clash with Colombia after the flag of neighboring country -- and archrival -- South Korea was mistakenly shown on Hampden Park's big screen as it displayed player profiles.
Organizers issued a hasty apology, and the team returned to start the game an hour later. It won 2-0.
"Clearly this is a mistake, we will apologize to the team and the national Olympic committee and steps will be taken to ensure this does not happen again," organizers said in a statement.
Read more: The 10 strangest Olympic sports
In other women's football matches, Team Great Britain gave the host nation a rousing start to the festivities with a 1-0 victory over New Zealand in front of 25,000 fans -- the biggest attendance for a women's international match in Britain.
Defending champion Team USA beat France 4-2. Current FIFA Women's World Cup holder Japan won its opening match against Canada 2-1, while Brazil thumped Cameroon 5-0 and Sweden beat South Africa 4-1.
Greek athlete sent off
In the day's other controversy, Greek athlete Paraskevi Papachristou was expelled from the country's Olympic team for posting an offensive comment about African immigrants on Twitter.
"With so many Africans in Greece, the mosquitoes from the West Nile will at least be eating some homemade food," she said on Twitter.
The Hellenic Olympic Committee ruled Papachristou, a triple jumper, would be barred, saying, "She made a mistake but it was serious. It was unforgivable."
Papachristou apologized, calling the comment an "unfortunate and tasteless joke."
Read more: How to avoid London's Olympic rush
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