Morocco are through to the last four of the Olympic men’s football tournament for the first time after a dubious Soufiane Rahimi penalty opened the scoring, second-half goals by Ilias Akhomach and Achraf Hakimi brushed aside whatever suspense remained around their progress and a stoppage-time spot-kick by El Mehdi Maouhoub in a stroke of delirious overkill. The Atlas Lions, playing before what felt like a home crowd in the 16th arrondissement, denied the US a second trip to the semi-finals in 64 years and their first since their fourth-place finish in 2000,
Tarik Sektioui’s side have surely felt star-kissed in this tournament ever since launching their campaign before the opening ceremony with a 2-1 win over two-time gold medalists Argentina in a match that was interrupted for almost two hours after a pitch invasion. But although Argentinian referee Yael Falcón Pérez’s decision to award a penalty for US right back Nathan Harriel’s challenge was harsh, the outcome even before the second-half onslaught was the correct one on a sun-splashed afternoon when the Americans didn’t see much of the ball and saw what crude forays into the final third they could muster easily snuffed out. By the end of the game, the US had engineered just one effort on target.
The Americans, helmed by Marko Mitrović and back in the Olympic tournament for the first time in 16 years and into the quarter-finals for just the third time in a century, found themselves up against a well-drilled Moroccan, who brought the majority of their best age eligible players (and their very best overage player) and what often seemed like 48,229 of their most fervent supporters who jeered every American touch.
In what became a familiar tenor, Morocco kept possession for the opening stretch and won a couple of corners that came to nothing. Almost surprisingly, it was the US who had the first chance of the afternoon after nine minutes when a free kick headed by Walker Zimmerman to Paxten Aaronson resulted in a shot just wide of the target. But Morocco answered with a shot of their own four minutes later through Akhomach, who made 41 appearances for Villarreal last year, that US keeper Patrick Schulte strained to punch over the bar.
What was becoming a busy day for Schulte continued over the next 15 minutes, as Morocco unleashed a series of assaults. When the referee pointed to the spot in the 26th minute after Harriel was deemed the aggressor amid a cluster of three players all raising their boots to find the ball, it almost felt like a relief. Given the Americans’ rudderless start, the match already seemed a handshake away after Rahimi calmly slotted the penalty inside the post.
On the occasions when the US did manage to break the Moroccan press, the gulf in quality between the sides was laid bare and the Americans’ tactical naivete exposed. Not long after the US’s second credible attempt on goal through Aaronson was blocked for a corner, Morocco picked up where they left off before the intermission. Any righteous indignation the US carried from the soft penalty was rendered moot after 63 minutes when a chain reaction of individual mistakes and breakdowns ended with Akhomach smashing in Oussama Targhalline’s cross to double Morocco’s lead. Less than six minutes later Hakimi made it three, benefiting from a similar comedy of errors. In what felt like a treat for their supporters, Morocco added a fourth with Maohoub’s penalty in stoppage time upheld by VAR.
“I felt like I was playing at home in this stadium where I play for my club [Paris Saint-Germain], but also because our fans were very loud and were here in big numbers,” Hakimi said afterward. “To score a goal in front of them here was very special for me.”
Amid what has been an annus horribilis for US Soccer, the progress of the Under-23s offered a sorely needed respite as Mitrović’s youngsters recovered from a 3-0 defeat to tournament favorites France in their opener to reach the knockout stage with a second-place finish in Group A. But whatever positive vibes arose over the past week and a half were quickly brushed aside on Friday afternoon.
Morocco are now two wins away from becoming the third African side to win the Olympic men’s football gold, after Nigeria in 1996 and Cameroon in 2000.
“We have always aimed for gold here,” Akhomach said. “That’s our mission since we arrived here. And we are going to leave everything on the pitch to achieve that. It feels great to know we have two more games guaranteed now, but we only think about the gold medal.”
