Team USA’s Nathan Harrier (No. 2) fights for the ball during their Paris Olympic quarterfinal match against Morocco at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on Friday.
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PARIS — First, there’s the World Cup. Now at the Olympics.
Morocco shocked the football world by reaching the semi-finals of a major tournament.
Unfortunately for the U.S. team, Morocco won 4-0 in the quarterfinals, leaving the scrappy U.S. team out of contention for a medal.
Morocco became the first African country to reach the semi-finals of the world’s biggest sporting event at the 2022 World Cup and now the country is making strides again at the major event.
At the Olympics, the men’s team has roster restrictions that require nearly all players to be under 23 years old.
In Paris, Morocco opened the scoring in the 29th minute with a goal from Soufiane Rahimi. After halftime, they scored three more goals in the 63rd and 70th minutes, and sealed the victory with a penalty kick in stoppage time in the 91st minute.
The United States began the Summer Olympics with a disastrous defeat to host France in their first group match. But then the United States defeated New Zealand and Guinea to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2000 (and only the second time since the Games began in 1960).
Next up for Morocco is Monday’s semifinal against either Japan or Spain.
