Morocco defeated Argentina 2-1 in a wild first game, while France easily won

Play was stopped with the score level at 2-2 due to a fan invasion during Argentina’s and Morocco’s inaugural Olympic football match on Wednesday. Argentina was ultimately defeated 2-1 after a video assistant review.

Cristian Medina of Argentina scored deep into injury time to save what appeared to be a 2-2 tie, but the goal was declared offside and the match was stopped for approximately two hours.

When the teams departed the field following the fan invasion and Saint-Etienne’s order was restored, they learned that the match had been suspended by the referees rather than finished.

The venue manager confirmed to Reuters that the game had been stopped and that there was a discussion going on regarding whether or not to continue.

After VAR finished its review and disallowed the goal, the sides returned to the field to play out the remaining minutes of the game in front of an empty stadium. They played for three minutes and fifteen seconds.

Manager of Argentina Javier Mascherano commented, “I don’t remember something like this happening at this level, that the match is suspended for an hour and a half, warming up for 10 minutes and then play three.”

“What happened on the pitch was a scandal, it’s not a neighborhood tournament, it’s the Olympics.”

Subsequently, the organizers announced that they were collaborating with relevant parties to identify the reasons for the pitch invasion and devise suitable solutions.

Giuliano Simeone pulled one back for the 2004 and 2008 gold medalists in the 68th minute after Soufiane Rahimi scored twice for Morocco, the second goal coming from the penalty spot early in the second half.

Later, just past the hour mark, hosts France made a strong start to the tournament in Marseille, scoring twice in eight minutes, and a late header from Loic Bade gave them a comfortable 3-0 victory over the United States.

A brilliant long-range shot from captain Alexandre Lacazette ignited a sizable crowd before a brilliant goal from Michael Olise doubled Thierry Henry’s team’s lead.

The fact that Israel’s Group D opening against Mali at the Parc des Princes in Paris went ahead without a hitch must have eased organizers after the chaos in St-Etienne.

Tight security was in place for the 1-1 tie due to increased geopolitical tensions.

Eleven minutes after the break, Doumbia Cheickna’s header gave the African team an equalizer, but Diallo Hamidou’s own goal put Israel ahead.
Despite having trouble getting going early in the game, Spain defeated Uzbekistan 2-1 in the Group C opener earlier at the same location.
Marc Pubill’s close-range strike in the 29th minute versus Uzbekistan gave the Spaniards—silver medalists in Tokyo three years prior—the lead.

Encouraged by the spectators, Uzbekistan equalized shortly before the break owing to a penalty kick by Eldor Shomurodov after a VAR review for a foul committed by Pau Cubarsi.

After the break, Abduvohid Nematov saved Sergio Gomez’s penalty kick for Spain, wasting a fantastic opportunity to tie the score. However, the Real Sociedad midfielder made up for it when he scored in the 62nd minute.

Uzbekistan weren’t a surprise to me, as Spain’s coach Santi Denia stated. “We’ve accomplished our goal, but it’s time to get better now that the game has become more challenging. It’s my responsibility to communicate more effectively.”