And then there were four. The Men’s Olympic Football Tournament has reached the semi-final stage and has thrown up two fascinating battles.
Spain and Morocco were in unstoppable form in their last-eight matches, sweeping aside Japan and USA respectively. Both have displayed their attacking flair and dynamism throughout the competition – and fans at Stade de Marseille look certain to be in for a treat when they go head-to-head.
In the later kick-off, France will take on Egypt with a place in the gold medal match at stake. Thierry Henry’s side edged out Argentina in the quarters, while the Pharaohs prevailed in a dramatic penalty shootout against Paraguay. Will the hosts thrill their adoring home fans with victory, or can Egypt cause an Olympic upset?
Men’s Olympic Football Tournament fixtures: Semi-finals
Morocco v Spain
Stade de Marseille
Kick-off: 18:00 (kick-offs in local time)
Facts and figures
This is Morocco’s eighth appearance at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament – and is the first time they’ve reached the semi-finals.
Soufiane Rahimi has scored in each of Morocco’s four matches at Paris 2024 and is the tournament’s top scorer with five goals. He could become the first player to score in five successive Olympic matches for an African team.
Spain are aiming to reach the final for the second edition in a row, having finished runners-up to Brazil at Tokyo 2020.
This will be the second time La Roja have faced an African team in the Olympic semi-finals. At Barcelona 1992, they recorded a 2-0 victory against Ghana on their way to winning gold.
Quotes
“We hope to go on with the fans support until the end of the tournament. My priority is to help the team and I hope I’ll score in the semi-finals to reach the final.”
Soufiane Rahimi, Morocco forward
“We had a great game [against Japan] and are very happy. We already start thinking about Morocco. Morocco is a great rival, but we will try to play our game and achieve victory.
Fermin Lopez, Spain midfielder
France v Egypt
Stade de Lyon
Kick-off: 21:00
Facts and figures
The only previous Olympic meeting between the teams was in the 1984 quarter-finals. France recorded a 2-0 victory on their way to winning the competition
France have won all their four matches at Paris 2024 without conceding a goal. They are the only team in the semi-finals with a perfect record of four wins from their four games.
Egypt are through to their third Olympic semi-final. They are aiming to reach the gold medal match for the first time.
If Morocco and Egypt win, it will be the first time two African teams have met in the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament gold medal match.
Quotes
“We have to get it into our heads that the match [against Argentina] is over and that there’s another one now. We have to be happy and concentrate at the same time. It’s not easy.”
Jean-Philippe Mateta, France forward
“We have been fighting for two years for this moment. We promised our people that we would win a medal in this championship, so we will continue to fight for our dream until the end.”
Ahmed Atef, Egypt midfielder