Egypt win on penalties to qualify for Olympics 2024 semi-finals

Egypt has advanced to the men's Olympic football competition semifinals for the first occasion in their history. The Egyptians have advanced to the final eight in four of their previous eleven attempts, the most recent being in London in 2012 and Tokyo 2020, which took place in 2021, nine years later.  But they were all defeated in the end. That all changed in Paris Olympics 2024 after an impressive victory over Paraguay in the last eight to advance to the competition's semi-finals.

Their rival did not have an easy time of it, as Diego Gomez, who completed a brilliant play from Julio Enciso, gave them the lead after just 20 minutes.It went down into a lottery of penalties after an additional thirty minutes of extra time failed to produce a breakthrough.

 

With a 5-4 shootout victory, the North Africans were resilient, led by the heroics of goalie Hamza Alaa, and ensured their safe passage into unknown land.  In the semifinal, they will play hosts France and a win in that game would seal them at least a silver medal from the competition.

Which teams will participate in the Paris Olympics 2024 semi-finals?

In the first quarter-final of the football competition, Morocco and the United States of America squared off. It turned out to be an easy win for Morocco as they swept past the North American nation to book their place in the final four of the Paris Olympics 2024.

Japan and Spain squared off in the second quarterfinal and it turned out to be a one-sided affair altogether. Spain won 3-0, but the way the game was played, they deserved it. The main fixture of the night was France vs Argentina and the match did not disappoint at all. Crystal Palace striker Jean Mateta scored in the 5th minute and the hosts held on to book a place in the final four of the competition.

Here is the semi-final fixture list: -

Semi-final 1 - France vs Egypt

Semi-final 2 - Morocco vs Spain