City
Epaper

Paris Olympics: Spain fight back to defeat Morocco in thrilling semifinal

By IANS | Updated: August 6, 2024 00:25 IST

Marseille (France), Aug 6 Spain have assured the country of a medal in the men’s football event as ...

Open in App

Marseille (France), Aug 6 Spain have assured the country of a medal in the men’s football event as the 2020 silver medallists completed a dramatic comeback against Morocco, winning 2-1 in the semifinals of the tournament at Stade de Marseille here on Monday. Both teams were quite even on the field with Morocco taking more shots than Spain (18-16) and both sides also sharing possession 48-52% in favour of the Spaniards.

Spain kept knocking until the 66th minute when Fermin Lopez scored a curling effort into the bottom right corner to equalise the game and rejuvenate Spain’s attack. La Roja left it late but managed to get there in the end as Lopez, the FC Barcelona forward was instrumental in the comeback and assisted substitute Juanlu Sanchez, who scored the 85th-minute winner.

Morocco and Spain had previously met in the 2O22 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 stage when they caused an incredible upset eliminating the Spaniards 3-0 in penalties after a goalless 120 minutes.

Spain are aiming to follow up on their success at Euro 2024 with a gold medal in France and they have impressed so far in the competition.

The Euro 2024 winner will face the winner of the second semifinals between France and Egypt.

Meanwhile, Morocco still have a chance to secure their first medal at the Games when they play the loser of the second semifinal in the bronze medal match. Both sides come into this game on the back of superb quarterfinal wins, as Spain beat Japan 3-0, while Morocco cruised to a 4-0 victory over the United States.

But in the end, Spain's experience and cohesive play helped them overcome the Moroccan challenge and emerge victorious.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Open in App

Related Stories

InternationalEarthquake of magnitude 5.7 rocks Tibet

InternationalUkraine President agrees meeting with Putin this week

InternationalUS announces trade deal with China in Geneva

MaharashtraMumbai News: Cops Arrest Trio for Opening Fake Bank Accounts Under ‘Ladki Bahin’ Scheme for Cyber Fraud

NationalKarachi was in line of fire during Operation Sindoor, affirms Indian Navy

Other Sports Realted Stories

Other SportsIndia bags seven medals at Archery World Cup 2025 in Shanghai; Bronze for Deepika Kumari, Parth Salunkhe

Other SportsKynan, Sabeera, win trap mixed team bronze as Nicosia Shotgun World Cup concludes

Other SportsEl Clasico: Mbappe’s hat-trick in vain as Barcelona run riot in 4-3 victory

Other SportsPremier League: Tottenham’s league woes continue with home loss against Palace

Other SportsPremier League: West Ham move past Man Utd with 2-0 win at Old Trafford