This Friday, the four national teams that will compete in the semi-finals of the men’s football tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were defined. This sport, which has been present in the Olympic games since Paris 1900, has Brazil as its current champion, which was unable to qualify for these games.
The day began with a victory for Morocco, who felt at home in the French capital against the United States. The African team won by a resounding 4-0, with goals from Soufiane Rahimi, Ilias Akhomach, Achraf Hakimi, and Mehdi Maouhoub.
Then it was Japan’s turn against Spain, silver medalists at Tokyo 2020, at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium in Lyon. The Iberians, another favorite for the Olympic title, won 3-0 with a double from Fermín López and the final goal from Abel Ruíz.
Later, Egypt and Paraguay, one of the two South American representatives at this edition of the Olympic Games, fought for the third and penultimate place in the semi-finals. The meeting was held in Marseille, in the south of France.
Diego Gómez opened the scoring for the Paraguayan team in the 71st minute. It seemed that the Paraguayans were going to win the match and return to the semi-finals of men’s football at the Olympic Games since Athens 2004, when they lost the final 1-0 to Argentina.
However, two minutes into the 90th minute, Ibrahim Adel equalized for the Egyptians. They did not break the tie in extra time, and the game was finally decided on penalties, where the Arabs did not miss a single shot.
The last match of the day was also the most attractive. On one side were France, the home team, and on the other, Argentina, one of the top candidates to win the tournament. The match took place at the Matmut Atlantique stadium in Bordeaux.
The French, led by the legendary Thierry Henry, took the lead in the fifth minute in a stadium packed with French fans. More than 80 minutes later, the French had their second goal disallowed after a VAR review for a foul in the Argentine penalty area.
Javier Mascherano’s players leaned towards the goal defended by French goalkeeper Guillaume Restes, and they came very close to scoring the equalizer. However, despite the 10 minutes of injury time, the home team was able to celebrate in a tense match. The Argentine national anthem had been whistled during the protocol acts.
Men’s football semi-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
- Morocco vs. Spain: August 5
- Egypt vs. France: August 5
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