Rampaging Morocco faces high-flying Spain in the first semifinal of the Olympics 2024 Men’s Football Tournament at Marseille. The winner will face either France or Egypt for the Gold.
MR-U23 vs SP-U23 Match Details
Date: Monday, 5 August 2024
Time: 18:00 (CET), 21:30 (IST)
Venue: Stade Velodrome, Marseille
MR-U23 vs SP-U23 Match Preview
Morocco made it to consecutive semi-finals of a major competition after the senior team achieved the same in the 2022 World Cup with a 4-0 thrashing of the USA in the quarterfinal. Soufiane Rahimi, in hot scoring form, opened the scoring from the spot on the half-hour mark. Ilias Akhomach and Achraf Hakimi put the game out of reach before substitute El Mehdi’s penalty completed the routing. The Atlas Lion now has the chance to make it to the Gold medal match which will create more history for the team in the Olympics this time. The African side will face another elegant side in Spain in the last four, the same opposition they defeated in the Round of 16 of the World Cup two years ago. Hakimi was a part of that squad and will want to use his experience again to help his side get over this challenge registering a goal and an assist in the last two games of the competition. The memorable wins over Argentina and the USA will provide additional motivation for them ahead of facing another top side on Monday.
Reverting to their first-choice eleven, Spain overturned their 2-1 defeat to eventual group winners Egypt in the final group game with a 3-0 humbling of Japan in the quarterfinals. Santi Denia's side left no stone unturned against the Asian giants as Barcelona star Fermin Lopez scored two fabulous goals and Abel Ruiz fired in a third strike late in the game. La Roja will make it to the semifinals for the fourth time in the last six appearances with a chance to reach consecutive Olympic finals after losing the Gold to Brazil last time. Spain’s only Gold came in the 1992 Olympics hosted on their own turf at Barcelona but they don’t have to look that far for inspiration. The senior men’s side won the Euro 2024 only last month and the women’s team also made it to the semifinals of Olympics 2024. Leaving aside their loss against Egypt with a much-changed side, Spain have looked untroubled for most of the competition and would like to carry on the trend when they take to the pitch at Marseille.
Recent Form (Olympics 2024)
MR-U23: WLWW
SP-U23: WWLW
MR-U23 vs SP-U23 Predicted Lineups
Morocco
Mohamedi; Hakimi, Boukamir, El Azzouzi, El Ouahdi; Targhalline, Richardson; Akhomach, El Khannouss, Ezzalzouli; Rahimi
Spain
Tenas; Pubill, Cubarsi, Garcia, Miranda; Barrios, Baena; Oroz, F. Lopez, Gomez; Ruiz
MR-U23 vs SP-U23 Dream11 Match Prediction
Morocco has looked to be a force to reckon with in this Olympics and they will want to create more history by beating another top side in Spain. We predict a 2-1 win for the Atlas Lions.
MR-U23 vs SP-U23 Dream11 Team Top picks
Captain Pick: Soufiane Rahimi
Vice-captain Pick: Fermin Lopez, Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Gomez
MR-U23 vs SP-U23 Dream11 Team Suggestion
GK: Mohamedi (Cr - 7.5, Pts - 118)
DEF: Hakimi (Cr - 9, Pts - 233), Pubill (Cr - 7.5, Pts - 140), Gomez (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 202)
MID: El Khannouss (Cr - 8, Pts - 131), Lopez (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 243), Baena (Cr - 7, Pts - 125), Richardson (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 140)
FW: Akhomach (Cr - 8, Pts - 157), Ruiz (Cr - 7.5, Pts - 114), Rahimi (Cr - 9, Pts - 288)
Vice-captain: Fermin Lopez
Captain: Soufiane Rahimi
