France defeated Argentina 1-0 on August 2 to go to the Olympic men’s football semi-finals, where they will face Spain, Morocco, and Egypt. Jean-Philippe Mateta scored his only goal.
Mateta of Crystal Palace scored five minutes into the quarterfinal in Bordeaux, meeting Michael Olise’s corner with a spectacular near-post header.
That was enough for the hosts, coached by Thierry Henry, to reach the last four and remain in contention for gold in Paris on August 9.
Background and Tensions
The match was the first between the countries since people caught Argentina players screaming racist chants about their French rivals as they celebrated winning the Copa America in mid-July.
FIFA announced an investigation into the chants, which included racial and homophobic comments directed against France’s star forward Kylian Mbappe, among others.
The fans in Bordeaux greeted the Argentina team with an unpleasant welcome, loudly jeering their national anthem as the teams met for the first time since the 2022 World Cup final. The South Americans emerged victorious in the match through a penalty shootout.
Full-Time Confrontations
Tensions erupted during full-time, with opposing players and staff colliding on the field and confrontations extending down the tunnel.
Henry stated that the referee issued a red card to midfielder Enzo Millot, who had been replaced late in the game, after the final whistle.
“He was not on the pitch. Perhaps you are sent off because you received a second yellow card for preventing someone from going through on goal, rather than because you were on the bench. “I am really not happy about that,” Henry told France 3.
Missed Opportunities
Giuliano Simeone and Julian Alvarez missed chances for Javier Mascherano’s Argentina, and the two-time gold medalists’ departure ensures that the men’s football gold winner will not be from Latin America for the first time since Cameroon won in Sydney in 2000.
France should have won by more, but Olise’s late second goal was disallowed due to a foul in the buildup.
Spain and Morocco March On
They are now big favourites to win the semi-final in Lyon on August 5 against Egypt, who defeated Paraguay 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Marseille.
Ibrahim Adel was Egypt’s hero, scoring a late equalizer in normal time and then completing the winning penalty in the shootout, in which Paraguay’s Marcelo Perez was the only player who did not score.
Spain’s Dominant Performance
Earlier, Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez scored a superb brace to help Spain defeat Japan 3-0 in Lyon.
Lopez, a member of Spain’s Euro 2024 winning side, scored from long range in the 11th minute.
On 73 minutes, the Barcelona midfielder scored another high-quality goal, controlling a Sergio Gomez corner and volleying in from the outside of the box.
Captain Abel Ruiz completed victory for Spain, the 1992 Olympic winners and the silver medalists from Tokyo three years ago.
Morocco’s Convincing Win
Spain advances to a last-four match in Marseille against Morocco, who defeated the United States 4-0 in Paris.
Soufiane Rahimi opened the score from the penalty spot after a defender fouled him in the box shortly before the half-hour mark.
That was his fifth goal in four games as the tournament’s leading scorer.
Morocco extended their advantage after 63 minutes when Abde Ezzalzouli set up Ilias Akhomach to score at the near post.
Achraf Hakimi, playing on his home ground for Paris Saint-Germain, scored 3-0, and substitute Mehdi Maouhoub added another penalty in stoppage time.
“If we keep playing like this we will deserve to be in the final,” Akhomach said.
We may not hear as much about other countries as we do, but we know what we want. Our goal in coming here is to win.
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