Paris 2024 Olympics: Egypt vs Morocco For History
Guaranteed First Time Medalist in Men’s Soccer
African Rivals Meet With Medal on Line
Either Egypt or Morocco will win their first Olympic soccer medal on Thursday. On the men’s side, Egypt and Morocco will meet in the bronze medal match after losing their semifinal matches on Monday.
Both teams went up 1-0 but ended up blowing their leads and they’ll still feel they have a lot to play for here. In an all-African Egypt vs Morocco soccer bronze medal match, expect the crowd to be heavily pro-Morocco.
We’ll check out the odds ahead of an intriguing match.
Egypt U23 vs Morocco U23
Records: Egypr (2-1-2), Morocco (3-0-2)
Date & Time: Thursday, August 8, 11:00 a.m. ET
Location: Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, France
Head-to-Head
Last year, Morocco’s U23 team fell behind 1-0 to Egypt in the 2023 U23 Africa Cup of Nations final. Hosts Morocco got a goal back before halftime and Oussama Targhalline scored the Atlas Lions’ winner in extra time.
Hosts Morocco also beat Egypt 3-2 in the 2011 Africa Cup of Nations Semifinal. This Egypt vs Morocco soccer bronze medal game will be the first neutral site match between these two U23 teams in a major tournament.
Egypt Missing Two Defenders
Not many Paris Olympics 2024 predictions had Egypt reaching the Semifinals. Still, coach Rogerio Micale led his side to a 2-1 upset victory over Spain in the group stage finale to finish in first place in Group C. Egypt also beat Uzbekistan 1-0 and played to a scoreless draw against the Dominican Republic to finish with seven points in three games.
In the Quarter-Finals against Paraguay, Ibrahim Adel scored an 88th-minute equalizer to send the match to extra time. It was his third goal in two matches and he also stepped up to score the winning penalty in a 5-4 shootout victory. That set up a Semifinal match versus hosts France, which right back Ahmed Eid missed due to an injury.
Surprisingly, Egypt went up 1-0 as Mahmoud Saber sent a laser into the roof of Guillaume Restes’ net. Things got worse from there, though, as Egypt conceded a late goal, which sent the match into extra time. Only 90 seconds into extra time, Omar Fayed picked up his second yellow card and the Pharaohs went down to 10 men.
France scored two goals in extra time to take down Egypt, 3-1. Egypt still have the chance to win their first Olympic medal in soccer and haven’t lost any of their last 13 matches in normal time.
However, Micale will be without two of his defenders, as Eid is out injured and Fayed is suspended.
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Morocco Get El Khanouss Back
Morocco, like Egypt, took the lead in their Semifinal match. Amir Richardson won a penalty in the first half of Monday’s game against Spain. Soufiane Rahimi stepped up for his tournament-leading sixth goal of the Olympics. However, Spain rallied with a vengeance in the second half as Fermin Lopez scored and assisted for La Roja.
The Atlas Lions fell 2-1 but it’s hard to fault their work rate. Morocco have also scored in each match they’ve played in, as they destroyed the USA 4-0 in the Quarter-Finals. In the group stage, Morocco upset Argentina, 2-1, lost 2-1 to Ukraine, and beat Iraq 3-0 to finish atop Group B.
Paris Olympics 2024 news notes key midfielder Bilal El Khanouss will return from a one-game suspension on Thursday. Coach Tarik Sektioui is likely to put El Khanouss back into the starting lineup and bench Eliesse Ben Seghir.
El Khanouss has provided two assists in four games and he’s one of Morocco’s most dangerous players, along with Rahimi, Abde Ezzalzouli, and tricky dribbler Ilias Akhomach. Right back Achraf Hakimi is also one of the tournament’s strongest players.
Match Analysis & Odds
Coming off two straight extra-time matches, Egypt are certainly at a disadvantage here, especially with only two days of rest in between games. The latest soccer lines back up that sentiment, as Morocco come in at -125 odds to win bronze in normal time.
Meanwhile, Egypt are +310 underdogs and a draw sits at +250 odds. With two Egyptian defenders out, we expect Morocco to be able to break down the Pharaohs’ defense. The Egypt vs Morocco soccer bronze medal odds list over 2.5 goals at -135 odds as all five of Morocco’s Olympic matches have finished with three or more.
The best price one can get on Egypt +0.5 is even and they haven’t lost a match in normal time since January.
Third-place games can often turn into wide-open shootouts but these teams will approach this like a final given neither have won an Olympic soccer medal. That’ll make Thursday’s game an intriguing watch.
