Egypt and Morocco to battle it out for bronze

Soufiane RAHIMI of the Morocco team is celebrating after scoring the first goal from a penalty during the match at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games between Morocco U23 and United States U23 - Quarter-Final at Parc des Princes in Paris, France, on August 2, 2024.Photo by Ayman Aref/NurPhoto/Shutterstock (14619276ds)

by Staff Reporter

Wednesday Aug 07, 2024. 13:22

The bronze medal match will be an intense affair as North African rivals Egypt and Morocco square off at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes on Thursday, August 8.

Both teams are bidding to win their first medal at the Olympic Games, with the Atlas Lions having already made history at Paris 2024 after reaching the knockout stages for the first time.

Tarik Sektioui’s side topped Group B with a record of two wins and one defeat, and they thrashed United States 4-0 in the quarter-finals before Spain ended their gold medal hopes in the last four.

Soufiane Rahimi opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 37th minute, but La Roja with two second-half goals from Fermin Lopez (65′) and Juanlu (86′) to secure a 2-1 win.

The Pharaohs went unbeaten in the group stages and they required penalties to get past Paraguay in the last eight, winning 5-4 in the shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra time.

But their run also came to a halt in the semi-finals as France battled back from behind to emerge 3-1 victors after extra time.

Rahimi could still finish as top scorer in the men’s tournament after taking his tally to six goals against Spain. He is two goals ahead of France’s Jean-Philippe Mateta and Spain’s Lopez.