Egypt vs Morocco

Stade de la Beaujoire is the venue as Egypt and Morocco battle it out for a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games.

Despite taking the lead midway through the second half of their semi-final tie against host nation France, Egypt succumbed to a morale-wracking 3-1 extra-time loss, relinquishing the chance of contesting their first-ever Olympic final. However, they’re potentially 90 minutes away from making history in Nantes, gunning for their first medal in the men’s Olympic football. Rogerio Micale’s men will seek another quick-fire start after breaking the deadlock in three of their last four Olympic matches. But it’s worth noting they failed to keep a clean sheet in three of them. That’s a potentially ominous sign for the Pharaohs as they take on Morocco, a side that dispatched them last summer in the U23 Africa Cup of Nations final despite Egypt going 1-0 up in that game.

On the other hand, Morocco experienced an identical fate in their semi-final showdown against Spain, grabbing a halftime lead, only to be pegged back twice after the break. Second-half upsets have been a common theme for the Moroccans throughout the tournament, with four of their five goals conceded in this summer’s Olympics coming beyond the break. The atmosphere inside the dressing room isn’t ideal after the senior team’s coach, Walid Regragui, reportedly undermined manager Tarik Sektioui during the interval. Despite a semi-final heartache, the Atlas Lions could still take home a first-ever men’s football medal at the Olympics. Though the stakes are high, it’s worth noting that four of Morocco’s five games in the competition featured precisely three goals.