The Olympic Games men’s football tournament is about to witness a repeat of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final in Qatar.
Concluding results in the group stage saw eight teams progress to Friday’s quarter-finals with eight teams heading home: New Zealand and Guinea from Group A, Ukraine and Iraq from Group B, Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan from Group C plus Mali and Israel from Group D. Early flights all largely predictable.
Hosts France reached the last eight by topping Group A after a 3-0 win over New Zealand and will go to Bordeaux to face an Argentinian team who finished runners-up in Group B after beating Ukraine 2-0.
Home fans will expect to see Thierry Henry’s juniors avenge the seniors’ shootout defeat by Argentina in Doha in December 2022. Henry’s squad does not include any World Cup finals survivors but Argentina feature four: goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, veteran defender Nicolas Otamendi, midfielder Thiago Almada plus forward Julian Alvarez.
France maintained a three-match 100pc record with goals from skipper Jean-Philippe Mateta, Desire Doue and Arnaud Kalimuendo. United States seized runners-up spot after beating Guinea 3-0 in Saint-Etienne with a free kick from Djordje Mihailovic and two more goals from Kevin Paredes.
US, in the quarter-finals, will play Morocco who topped Group B after beating Iraq 3-0 in Nice. All the goals came in the first 36 minutes from Amir Richardson, Soufiane Rahimi and Abde Ezzalzouli. Rahimi is the tournament’s four-goal leading marksman.
Morocco finished level on six points with Argentina but took top spot courtesy of their controversial opening victory over the 2008 and 2012 Olympic champions. Argentina maintained their revival after the chaotic, four-hour opening defeat by defeating Ukraine 2-0 in Lyon on second-half goals from Thiago Almada and Claudio Echeverri.
Egypt reached the quarter-finals with a surprise 2-1 win over Spain who took advantage of their earlier progress to the knockout round by resting most of their key men. Ibrahim Adel struck both Egyptian goals with Samu Omorodion heading a late Spanish consolation.
In the quarter-finals Egypt will face Paraguay who beat Mali 1-0 in Paris. They took Group D runners-up spot behind a Japanese team who extended their 100pc record with a 1-0 win over Israel in Nantes. Substitute Mao Hosoya scored the winner in second-half stoppage time.
Credit: AIPS Media
