Decines. Argentina qualified for the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games by beating Ukraine 2-0, but the result was not enough to win its group and in the next round it could face host France in a repeat of the World Cup final.
Thiago Almada and Claudio Echeverri scored the goals in the second half of the Group B match at the Stade de Lyon.
At the same time, Morocco beat Iraq 3-0 and took the lead in the group stage, as with the same goal difference as the Albiceleste (+3), the result of the match between the two teams prevailed, which the Africans won 2-1 on the first day after a scandalous ending.
Argentina’s next opponent could be Group A leaders France, who were due to face New Zealand later in the day. In the same group, runner-up USA were playing Guinea.
The Albiceleste, who recovered in their second appearance with a 3-1 victory over Iraq, dominated the match against Ukraine, but only reflected this on the scoreboard in the second half.
Forwards Julian Alvarez and Luciano Gondou, who replaced the injured Lucas Beltran, squandered several one-on-one chances that the South Americans almost regretted when goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli had to work hard to save a shot from Valentyn Rubchynskyi before the break.
Just after the second half started, Almada took the ball in the centre circle and advanced without resistance to the semi-circular area, where he launched a left-footed shot that was unstoppable by the rival goalkeeper Kiril Fesiun. It was the first goal of the new signing of the Brazilian Botafogo in the tournament.
In the first minute of added time, Echeverri — who came on in the 80th minute — sealed the match by taking a rebound from the goalkeeper after a shot by Kevin Zenón.
Argentina, Olympic champion in 2004 and 2008, came to Paris with the aim of extending its winning streak of titles over the last three years, with a World Cup in 2022 and a recent second continental championship.
The Dominican Republic said goodbye with a 1-1 draw against Uzbekistan in Group C, in which Egypt surprised by beating Spain 2-1 and qualifying as first in its group for the quarterfinals.
Rafael Núñez put the Dominicans ahead from a penalty in the 51st minute, while Alisher Odilov equalised for the Uzbeks seven minutes later. With two draws and one loss, the Central Americans were eliminated.
Two goals from Ibrahim Adel gave Egypt victory over La Roja, the favourites in the group stage, who reduced the gap with a goal from Samu Omorodion in the final minutes.
Quarter-finals will be decided later when the first round matches are completed. The top two teams from each group advance to the next phase.
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– 2024-08-02 20:04:29
