Welcome to the thrilling arena of Olympic soccer! Today’s quarterfinal clashes promise heart-pounding action, unexpected twists, and unforgettable moments. The stakes are high, and the drama is real. Let the games continue!
12/10 Morocco | Draw 39/20 | USA 43/20 (15:00)
After coming through the group stage, Morocco and USA fight it out for a place in the Paris 2024 Olympics semi-finals. Taking their place in the tournament’s first quarter-final at Parc des Princes, Morocco topped Group B with two wins; the US finished second in Group A to reach the knockout stage for the first time in 24 years.
Since finishing fourth at Sydney 2000, the United States has never made it past the group phase at any Olympic Games, but after beating Guinea 3-0 on Tuesday, they are now through to the final eight in Paris. Knowing a win would see them progress to the quarter-finals, the US started quickly at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, with midfielder Dorde Mihailovic curling home a fine free kick in the 14th minute. Wolfsburg winger Kevin Paredes then added two goals either side of the break to ensure maximum points, which proved sufficient to finish runners-up in Group A. Marko Mitrovic’s side had lost their opening match against gold-medal favourites France, but going on to defeat New Zealand 4-1 and seeing off Guinea by another three-goal margin has kept them in contention for a podium place.
Having previously won only two of six warm-up friendlies earlier this year, the Americans will have to step up in class at Parc des Princes, where one of Africa’s top teams await. Shocking Argentina in their opening fixture set Morocco on the way towards the knockout rounds, which they ultimately reached by claiming a 3-0 victory over Iraq last time out. Confirming themselves as Group B winners, the Atlas Lions went in front through Amir Richardson after 19 minutes, before striker Soufiane Rahimi netted his fourth goal of the tournament soon after. Real Betis star Abde Ezzalzouli added a third, as Morocco restated their credentials as contenders for an Olympic medal, following on from a historic World Cup semi-final appearance in Qatar 2022. Head coach Tarik Sektioui saw his team beaten by Ukraine after that opening win, but they are now the first Moroccan squad to get through the group stage since the Under-23 rule came into place in 1992. Winners of last year’s Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco topped the group because of their superior head-to-head record against Argentina, setting up an intriguing contest with the USA. Morocco to win.
28/10 Japan | Draw 2/1 | Spain 19/20 (17:00)
Still boasting a perfect record at the Paris 2024 Olympics so far, Japan’s men’s football team prepare for a clash of epic proportions against Spain in Friday’s quarter-final at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon. Go Oiwa’s troops stormed to the summit in Group D with nine points from a possible nine, while La Roja had to accept the runners-up spot in Group C behind Egypt.
Translating their pre-tournament form into an exceptional run of group-stage results, Japan proved a class above all of Paraguay, Mali, and Israel in Group D and were just one of two sides to prevail in all three group encounters, alongside hosts France. Oiwa’s outfit also matched Thierry Henry’s side in both of the scoring metrics, notching seven goals of their own while conceding a grand total of zero, and they started as they meant to go on with a 5-0 demolition of Paraguay in their opening battle. Japan’s succeeding victories over Mali and Israel were nowhere near as emphatic, and Oiwa’s men had to wait until the final 10 minutes on both occasions to nab the all-important goal, as Rihito Yamamoto saw off the African nation on July 27. Three days later, Japan’s 100% record was mere moments away from being extinguished against Israel, only for substitute Mao Hosoya to strike in second-half injury time and notch a seventh win from eight games in all tournaments for the four-time quarter-finalists.
Up until matchday three in Group C, the Spaniards were also on course to surge into the knockout rounds with nine points from an available nine, having seen off the threat of both Uzbekistan and the Dominican Republic before a top-of-the-table slog with Egypt. However, Santi Denia’s men were powerless to quell the brilliance of Ibrahim Adel, who struck either side of the half-time whistle to leave La Roja with a mountain to climb, one which they got halfway up thanks to Samu Omorodion’s injury-time strike. The Atletico Madrid attacker’s effort proved to be nothing more than a consolation for Denia’s men, though, as Egypt upset the apple cart with that 2-1 win and leapfrogged Spain into first place by a single point, consigning La Roja to the runners-up placement. Then again, the 1992 champions made it to the gold medal match at the Sydney 2000 Games despite finishing second in their group, and more recent history is on Spain’s side when it comes to head-to-head battles against the Japanese. Indeed, a Marco Asensio extra-time strike propelled La Roja to a gripping 1-0 semi-final win over Japan at the Tokyo 2020 Games, seeing Spain avenge their identical loss to their opponents at London 2012, where David de Gea and Juan Mata were among the household names in action. Spain to win.
2/1 Egypt | Draw 19/10 | Paraguay 13/10 (19:00)
Closing in on medals after coming through the group stage, Egypt and Paraguay will meet in Marseille today, as they lock horns in the third Paris 2024 Olympics quarter-final. Both booked a spot in the knockout phase by winning their final group game, and they now aim to take one step closer to the podium.
After already-qualified Spain decided to rotate their squad for Monday’s clash in Group C, Egypt took full advantage to seize both victory and top spot. Securing their place in the quarter-finals, the Pharaohs ran out 2-1 winners, with Ibrahim Adel bagging a brace in Bordeaux, following up his fine first-half strike with another just after the hour mark. Though Samu Omorodion pulled one back late on, Egypt held on for the points that confirmed first place, which seemed unlikely after they kicked off their campaign with a frustrating 0-0 draw against the Dominican Republic. Having subsequently responded by beating Uzbekistan 1-0, thanks to a crucial goal from Ahmed Nabil Koka, a second straight success sees Rogerio Micale’s men in contention to claim a first football medal in their nation’s history. Egypt qualified for Paris 2024 by finishing runners-up to Morocco at the most recent Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations, after they lost in the Tokyo 2020 quarter-finals to Brazil, who went on to claim gold. Only two wins now separate the Pharaohs from a guaranteed medal, but the next team in their way showed great character to bounce back from a chastening opening defeat at these Games.
Paraguay found themselves on the wrong end of a 5-0 thrashing in their Olympics opener last week, when Japan simply crushed their 10-man South American counterparts in Bordeaux. However, undeterred by that setback, La Albirroja showed great mettle to win a thrilling contest against Israel, with a 4-2 win putting them back in the mix for a place in the knockout phase. Monday’s tense 1-0 victory over Mali – earned by an early Marcelo Fernandez goal – then put Paraguay into the last eight for the first time since Athens 2004, where they memorably reached the final. Veteran coach Carlos Jara Saguier led his nation to the silver medal on that occasion, and having been re-appointed in October last year, the 73-year-old now aims to emulate that achievement two decades on. Despite making little impact at senior international level, Paraguay have now advanced to the latter stages in all three of their appearances at the Olympics, and Saguier’s squad will try to take inspiration from their predecessors today. Back the Pharaohs for the win.
11/10 France | Draw 19/10 | Argentina 47/20 (21:00)
In a repeat of the most recent men’s World Cup final, France and Argentina now battle for the right to call themselves Paris 2024 Olympics semi-finalists today. The two intercontinental heavyweights clash at the Matmut Atlantique in Bordeaux, where the victor will be rewarded with a winnable semi-final showdown against either Egypt or Paraguay.
Living up to expectations and then some in the group phase, Olympic hosts France emulated Japan as just one of two teams to win all three of their group matches in the men’s football tournament, while scoring seven goals and keeping three clean sheets. Thierry Henry’s irrepressible men laid down an early marker in Group A with their 3-0 beatdown of the United States, although they had to wait until the second half for all three of their strikes, a story that repeated itself when Kiliann Sildillia’s 75th-minute effort saw off Guinea. However, in Tuesday’s group finale against New Zealand, Jean-Philippe Mateta broke France’s first-half duck, before Desire Doue and Arnaud Kalimuendo also struck after the break for Henry’s second-half specialists, who topped their section without too much trouble whatsoever. A first Olympic men’s quarter-final since the 1996 Atlanta Games now awaits Les Bleus, who have to go back a staggering 40 years for the last time that they won a knockout Olympic match, when they won their first and only gold medal to date in the male tournament. Quarter-final contests have often been a bugbear for the current Olympic hosts, who have lost five of their last six men’s matches at this stage, but their overall unbeaten run now stands at an eye-catching nine matches since they concluded the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Quickly banishing the memories of their excruciating and unsavoury defeat to Morocco in their opening match of the tournament, Argentina had no issue sweeping aside Iraq and Ukraine to sneak into second place in Group B behind their African counterparts. Thiago Almada stole a lot of the pre-tournament hype, and the first-ever World Cup winner from MLS delivered in both fixtures, netting the openers on both occasions, while Manchester City-bound Claudio Echeverri rubber-stamped Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Ukraine in added time. Matching Morocco on points, goal difference, goals scored, and goals conceded, Argentina’s controversial defeat to the Atlas Lions forced them to settle for second on head-to-head points, although their brief barren Olympic spell is now a thing of the past. Indeed, Argentina are now through to the knockout rounds for the first time since their second and most recent gold medal triumph in 2008, having failed to make it past the group phase in both 2016 and 2021, and only one of their previous five quarter-final showdowns has ended in defeat. That sole loss came at the hands of Brazil in 1988, but while the senior France and Argentina sides engaged in a truly unforgettable battle in Qatar a year and a half ago, tonight’s meeting will be their first showdown in the men’s Olympics football tournament. Back France to edge Argentina to victory.
Written by Marc Strydom.