Morocco rout Egypt to win Olympic bronze

by Staff Reporter

Thursday Aug 08, 2024. 19:18

Morocco claimed the bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games following an emphatic 6-0 victory over regional rivals Egypt at the Stade de la Beaujoire on Thursday, August 8.

Soufiane Rahimi took his tournament tally to eight goals with a brace in Nantes, while Abde Ezzalzouli, Bilal El Khannouss, Akram Nakach and Achraf Hakimi also got in on the act as the Atlas Lions became the first North African team to win an Olympic medal.

The Pharaohs made the better start through, creating two chances in the opening 10 minutes. Osama Faisal tested Mounir Mohamedi with a close-range header on six minutes before Zizo was denied from inside the area four minutes later.

But Tarik Sektioui’s side quickly got a foothold in the game and broke the deadlock on 23 minutes when Ezzalzouli rifled a shot into the top right corner of the net from the left side of the box.

Rahimi doubled their lead just three minutes later with a header from a corner to put Egypt on the back foot. It remained 2-0 at the break, although Morocco struck again six minutes into the second half with a fine shot by El Khannouss from long range.

Rahimi got his name on the scoresheet once more on 64 minutes after being played through on goal by Ilias Akhomach and Nakach made it 5-0 nine minutes later when he converted from a corner.

Hakimi completed the rout three minutes from time with a superb free-kick to secure third place on the podium for Morocco.