What if Thierry Henry’s French Olympic team avenged Didier Deschamps’ French A team two and a half years after the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar? While the “rivalry” between the two camps has intensified in recent weeks after the absolutely scandalous racist chant sung by Lionel Messi’s teammates after their Copa América victory, a quarter-final of the Paris 2024 Olympic football tournament will pit Les Bleus against La Albiceleste. See you on Friday evening!
Argentina finished second in Group B on Tuesday afternoon, behind Morocco, and France confirmed their qualification and first place in their group a little later, by beating New Zealand 3-0 at the Stade Vélodrome. After two wins already without conceding a goal, against the United States (3-0) and Guinea (1-0), “Titi” Henry had decided to rotate his team. Only Castello Lukeba (in central defense) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (up front with the captain’s armband) continued in the eleven.
France-Argentina in Bordeaux
Mateta broke the deadlock for the French after 20 minutes of play, on a move initiated by Rayan Cherki (19th). The OL dribbler put on a show after that, stringing together technical moves without really making a difference for his team. Désiré Doué, following a mix-up (71st), and Arnaud Kalimuendo, with a cross shot (74th), finally put the Blues out of the game. Unlike Michael Olise, who was brought on after an hour of play, Alexandre Lacazette was able to stay on the bench until the end.
After Marseille (twice) and Nice, the French Olympic team heads to Bordeaux, where it will “host” Argentina in three days (9 p.m.). The survivor of this quarter-final will challenge the winner of the match between Egypt and the second-placed team in Group D (Paraguay or Mali, who face each other in the evening). In the other part of the final draw of the men’s football tournament, Morocco will challenge the United States, while Spain awaits the winner of Group D (probably Japan).
