August 5 – Morocco thrashed USA, scoring four without reply as Morocco’s older players made the difference for coach Tarik Sektioui’s team as he took advantage of the competition’s three-man allowance for over-23s.
Paris Saint Germain fullback Achraf Hakimi, 25, and Al-Ain striker Soufiane Rahimi, 28, were both on the scoresheet.
They will meet Spain in the next round, who faced no difficulty against Japan on Friday. Goals from Spain’s Fermin Lopez and Abel Ruiz saw Santi Denia’s side beat the Japanese 3-0, leaving no Asian team left in the running for the gold medal.
Keen to make it even more of a summer to remember for their country, Spain enter the semi-finals as the team to watch. Armed with some of the premium young talent across European football, headlined by Barcelona duo Pau Cubarsi and Fermin Lopez, they have every chance of adding a gold medal to the European Championship claimed last month.
Spain will meet Morocco at the Orange Velodrome in Marseille on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, Egypt edged past Paraguay on penalties thanks to a late equaliser from Ibrahim Adel to offset Inter Miami youngster Diego Gomez’s 71st-minute equaliser.
France got revenge on Argentina as Thierry Henry’s gold medal hopefuls sent home Javier Mascherano’s side. An early goal from Crystal Palace striker Jean-Phillipe Mateta made the difference for the home nation, with Argentina unable to strike back before the final whistle.
A game fuelled by the anti-France chanting controversy that plagued many of Argentina’s Copa America-winning stars last month, the young Frenchmen, many of whom are of African descent, were keen to leave a mark on the Argentinians in more ways than just the scoreline.
They will meet the Egyptian escape artists in Monday’s evening clash at the Groupama stadium in Lyon, with the Stade De France converted for the track and field events.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1734839107labto1734839107ofdlr1734839107owedi1734839107sni@g1734839107niwe.1734839107yrrah1734839107