France’s tense match with Argentina ended in controversy as Jean-Philippe Mateta’s lone goal secured a 1-0 victory for the hosts, sending them into the Olympic semi-finals on Friday.
Mateta’s goal, a powerful header from a Michael Olise corner five minutes into the quarter-final, was enough to advance France, joining Spain, Morocco, and Egypt in the final four.
The game in Bordeaux saw tensions flare at full-time, with players and staff from both sides clashing on the pitch and further altercations occurring in the tunnel.
The match marked the first encounter between the two nations since Argentina’s players were recorded singing racist chants about French players, including star striker Kylian Mbappe, during their Copa America celebrations in mid-July.
FIFA has announced an investigation into the incident, which included both racist and homophobic slurs.
The Argentina team faced a hostile reception, with the crowd loudly booing their national anthem.
This match was also a rematch of the 2022 World Cup final, where Argentina triumphed over France in a penalty shootout.
After the final whistle, France coach Thierry Henry reported that midfielder Enzo Millot, who had been substituted late in the game, received a red card.
“He wasn’t on the pitch. Maybe you get sent off because you get a second yellow card to stop someone running through on goal, not when you are on the bench. I am really not happy about that,” Henry told broadcaster France 3.
Giuliano Simeone and Julian Alvarez missed chances for Javier Mascherano’s Argentina, and the exit of the two-time gold medallists means the winner of men’s football gold will not come from Latin America for the first time since Cameroon triumphed in Sydney in 2000.
France could have won by a wider margin, but Olise had a late second goal disallowed for a foul in the build-up.
– Spain and Morocco march on –
They will now be heavy favourites to win a semi-final in Lyon on Monday against Egypt, who beat Paraguay 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Marseille.
Ibrahim Adel was Egypt’s hero, scoring a late equaliser in normal time and then converting the winning penalty in the shoot-out, in which Paraguay’s Marcelo Perez was the only player to fail to score.
Earlier a brilliant brace by Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez helped fire Spain to a 3-0 win over Japan in Lyon.
Lopez, a member of Spain’s triumphant Euro 2024 squad, blasted in the opener from range in the 11th minute.
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The Barcelona midfielder struck again on 73 minutes with another goal of the highest quality as he controlled a Sergio Gomez corner before volleying in from the edge of the box.
Captain Abel Ruiz wrapped up the win for Spain, Olympic champions in 1992 and silver medallists three years ago in Tokyo.
Spain go through to a last-four clash in Marseille with Morocco, who outclassed the United States, winning 4-0 in Paris.
Soufiane Rahimi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after he was fouled in the box just before the half-hour mark.
That was a fifth goal in four games for the tournament’s top scorer.
Morocco doubled their lead on 63 minutes when Abde Ezzalzouli set up Ilias Akhomach to finish at the near post.
Captain Achraf Hakimi, playing on his Paris Saint-Germain home ground, ran through to make it 3-0 and substitute Mehdi Maouhoub added another penalty in stoppage time.
“If we keep playing like this we will deserve to be in the final,” said Akhomach.
“Other countries might be talked about more than us but we know what we want. We came here to win.”