Javier Mascherano’s Argentina and Tarik Sektioui’s Morocco locked horns at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard for the first match of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday, July 24 — two days ahead of the main event. Morocco were comfortably better than Argentina in all departments, but they did not go into the tunnel as match-winners, at least the first time.
Thanks to invaders and objects thrown at the pitch, the match was abandoned in injury time with the scoreline reading 2-2. However, all players were asked to wait in the dressing room, as the organizing committee intended to complete the match. They were also checking for a possible offside in Argentina’s equalizer, which came through Cristian Medina in the 16th minute of injury time.
When Argentina and Morocco returned to the pitch — almost two hours after leaving it — VAR ruled out Medina’s goal as offside. La Albiceleste could not find a reply in the remaining three minutes and succumbed to a controversial 2-1 defeat in their 2024 Paris Olympics opener.
Argentina Received A Hostile Reception At Paris Olympics 2024 Opener
Thanks to Enzo Fernandez’s controversial video, two-time (2004, 2008) Olympic gold medal winners Argentina got a hostile reception at their 2024 Paris Olympics 2024 opener against Morocco. In the video, the Chelsea midfielder and some of his countrymen sang a controversial song aimed at French soccer players during Argentina’s 2024 Copa America celebrations. The French Football Federation has labeled the song “racist and discriminatory” and has vowed to take legal action against Argentina’s senior team.
French spectators inside the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard got the opportunity to show their anguish, and they did not let it pass them by. They booed Argentina every opportunity they got and gave Morocco the backing they never would have expected. The Atlas Lions, led by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Achraf Hakimi, delivered a performance worthy of applause, going 2-0 up by the 51st minute.
In the second minute of first-half injury time, Bilal El Khannous set up Soufiane Rahimi from inside the area, allowing him to poke it home from close range. Then, four minutes into the second half, Julio Soler shoved Ilias Akhomach after he breached the box, giving away a penalty. Rahimi stepped up for the spot-kick in the 51st minute and comfortably put it away to make it 2-0 for Morocco.
Julio, however, made amends for his mistake by assisting Guiliano Simeone for Argentina’s first goal of the game in the 68th minute.
A Bizarre End Secures Victory For Morocco
Thanks to injuries and other interruptions, the game extended for a whopping 15 minutes after the standard 90. Argentina piled men forward in search of the elusive equalizer and seemingly got it in the 16th minute. Medina found himself in the right place at the right time, as he nodded the ball in after the crossbar had come to Morocco’s rescue not once but twice.
The end of Morocco vs. Argentina was wild 🤯
▪️ Morocco led 2-1 going into stoppage time
▪️ Cristian Medina scored for Argentina in the 90+16th min
▪️ Fans stormed the pitch and objects were thrown at players
▪️ After order was restored and both teams had left the field, they… pic.twitter.com/dxYkpEQijG— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 24, 2024
As Argentina fans were celebrating, hostile French fans threw cups, bottles, and even pyrotechnics at them. To protect the players from objects and fans storming the pitch, the referee suspended play and took them down the tunnel.
When both sets of players returned to the empty stadium after approximately 100 minutes, VAR confirmed that Bruno Amione was in an offside position in the build-up to Medina’s goal. Morocco, rejuvenated by the news, held on to their lead and came away with a massive 2-1 win.
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