At 3:00 AM on August 6, the semi-finals of the 2024 Paris Olympic Men’s Football tournament kick off, with host nation France U23 facing dark horse Egypt U23 in a bid for a spot in the final.
France won the gold medal in men’s football at the 1984 Olympics but has been unable to win a championship in the following 40 years. This year’s tournament is being held in Paris, and as the host nation, France U23 boasts a formidable squad. Although top stars like Mbappé, Dembélé, and Griezmann are absent, players such as Aurier, Lacazette, Cherki, and Mateta, who play in the top five European leagues, have been called up, significantly enhancing their firepower.
From the first match of the group stage, France U23 played consistently, defeating the USA U23 3-0, followed by a 1-0 victory over Guinea U23, securing qualification one round early. In the final group match, France U23 again triumphed 3-0 over New Zealand U23, winning all three matches and advancing to the quarter-finals with maximum points. In the quarter-final against another title contender, Argentina U23, France U23 emerged victorious 1-0 thanks to a goal from Mateta.
Thus, France U23 scored eight goals in four matches without conceding any, making them unique among all participating teams. Since the start of 2024, France U23 has played nine games, winning seven and drawing two, remaining undefeated. During this period, they scored 25 goals, averaging 2.78 per game, while only conceding six, keeping five clean sheets. Their performance on both offense and defense has been outstanding.
The emergence of Egypt U23 was a pleasant surprise. They began the group stage with a 0-0 draw against Dominican Republic U23, but subsequently won 1-0 against Uzbekistan U23 and upset the strong Spain U23 2-1, topping the group ahead of their opponents to advance to the quarter-finals.
In the quarter-final, Egypt U23 battled Paraguay U23 for 120 minutes before prevailing on penalties, reaching the semi-finals of the Olympics for the first time and moving closer to a medal or even the gold. Egypt U23 has played 13 games in 2024, winning eight, losing four, and drawing just one.
Moreover, Egypt U23 scored 19 goals during this period, averaging 1.46 per game, while conceding 11, averaging 0.84 per game, keeping four clean sheets. This indicates that their attack isn’t particularly strong, but their defense is relatively resilient. The two teams have never faced each other before, making this a true encounter match.
Notably, France U23 is determined to win the gold medal at this Olympic Games, enjoying every advantage of timing, location, and people. However, the underdog status of Egypt U23 cannot be overlooked. Will they be able to pull off an upset away from home? We will have to wait and see.
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