Morocco wins bronze medal in men’s soccer

Morocco’s star Achraf Hakimi claimed the bronze medal in men’s football at the Olympic Games by beating Egypt’s midfielder Mohamed Elneny 6-0 on Thursday in Nantes.

The Atlas Lions have secured their first Olympic medal in football and the African nation’s second in Paris-2024, following the gold medal won by athlete Soufiane El Bakkali in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

“We showed character, that our team was prepared and capable of winning a historic medal for all Moroccans,” said Hakimi, part of the squad that took an unprecedented fourth place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Supported by their loyal fans at the Stade La Beaujoire, Morocco delivered the biggest win of the tournament thanks to another display from the man who will surely end up as the tournament’s top scorer: 28-year-old Soufiane Rahimi.

The UAE Al-Ain FC centre-forward, one of the players over the age limit for this U-23 tournament, has scored eight goals in six games, four more than his pursuers, Fermin Lopez and Jean-Philippe Mateta.

The Spaniard and the Frenchman will fight for gold on Friday in Paris, but it does not seem easy for them to steal the title of Olympic scorer from him.

Rahimi scored the second and fourth goals in the rout of the Pharaohs, led by Brazilian Rogério Micale, champion with the ‘Seleçao’ in Rio de Janeiro 2016.

The first of his account was an unmarked header near the area (26) and the second (64) in an exquisite finish after a counterattack.

Striker Ez Abde (23) was the first to break through the Egyptian goal with a beautiful shot into the left corner of goalkeeper Hamza Alaa.

He was followed by midfielder Bilal El Khannous (51), with a low shot from the edge of the box, and full-back Akram Nakach (73), who swept in to connect with a pass on the five-and-fifty mark.

Morocco, African champion of the category and eliminated by Spain in the semi-finals (2-1), sealed the humiliation with a superb free kick (87) taken by Hakimi.

Captained by former Arsenal midfielder Elneny, Egypt will leave the Games empty-handed after having lost 3-1 in the semi-finals to France after extra time.