Ledecky gets bronze, Wembanyama stuns for France, diving gets medals
In the pools, Team USA is off to a great start. Mackenzie Salmon breaks down our favorite moments from Saturday’s events.
France, Spain and Japan took commanding leads in their respective groups, while USA Soccer, Argentina and Egypt have gotten back into the mix after victories on Saturday.
France leads Group A, Spain leads Group C and Japan is atop Group D – all with six points. A win or draw when men’s soccer resumes action on Tuesday would assure each country will advance to the knockout round.
USA Soccer is second in Group A behind France with a two-goal differential over New Zealand, and will next face Guinea with a chance to advance.
Group B will bring the intrigue: All four teams – Argentina, Ukraine, Morocco and Iraq – have three points after two matches.
Check out these Paris Olympics men’s soccer scores and highlights from Saturday’s games:
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- Group B — Argentina 3, Iraq 1
- Group C — Spain 3, Dominican Republic 1
- Group B — Ukraine 2, Morocco 1
- Group C — Egypt 1, Uzbekistan 0
- Group D — Paraguay 4, Israel 2
- Group A — U.S. 4, New Zealand 1
- Group A — France 1, Guinea 0
- Group D — Japan 1, Mali 0
CHRISTIAN PULISIC: Is Pulisic playing at the Olympics? Here’s the answer
Djordje Mihailovic, Walker Zimmerman and Gianluca Busio scored in the first half, while Paxten Aaronson added another goal in the second half to help USA Soccer win 4-1 against New Zealand.
The four goals scored is an Olympic record for USA Soccer, while the victory is the first Olympic win since the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
USA Soccer responded nicely after its 3-0 loss to host France in their opener earlier this week.
France leads Group A with 6 points, ahead of USA Soccer and New Zealand (3 points), and Guinea (1 point).
Their first game was memorable for all the wrong reasons. But Argentina is back on track at the Paris Olympics. Thiago Almada, Luciano Gondou and Ezequiel Fernández each scored goals to help Argentina beat Iraq 3-1 on Saturday.
It was a far cry from the dramatic, 2-1 loss they endured to Morocco earlier this week after fan interference and a two-hour VAR disallowing a goal and draw.
Fermín López, Álex Baena and Miguel Gutiérrez scored as Spain cruised to a 3-1 win over the Dominican Republic. Spain takes command in Group C with six points ahead of Egypt, Uzbekistan and DR.
Kiliann Sildillia’s stellar header in the 75th minute was enough to help France win 1-0 against Guinea. France leads Group A with six points, while USA Soccer has three points in second place and a two-goal edge over New Zealand. Guinea is in last place with a point.
Rihito Yamamoto’s sliding, put-back goal in the 82nd minute fuels Japan’s 1-0 victory against Mali. Japan also withstood a late penalty goal missed by Mali in stoppage time to win.
Japan leads Group D with six points, while Paraguay is second with three points. Mali and Israel trail with one point each.
The matches are scoreless in the second half.
Fabián Balbuena’s header in stoppage time, and Fabian Fernandez’s goal three minutes later fueled Paraguay’s 4-2 win over Israel on Saturday.
Japan leads Group D with 4 points, ahead of Paraguay (3 points), Mali (2 points) and Israel (1 point).
Jesse Randall has scored in the 78th minute for New Zealand, spoiling a clean sheet for USA Soccer.
USA Soccer has set a record for goals scored in an Olympic match: Paxten Aaronson’s left boot in the 58th minute has given USA Soccer a 4-0 lead over New Zealand.
The previous record was three goals scored, in a 3-0 win against Costa Rica in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
USA Soccer is off to a red-hot start, with Gianluca Busio scoring in the 30th minute, to take a 3-0 lead over New Zealand.
The score total, just 30 minutes into the game, matches USA Soccer’s all-time high for goals scored in an Olympic game. They beat Costa Rica 3-0 in the group stage at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Walker Zimmerman was in the right place at the right time, in front of the net to score in the 12th minute to help USA Soccer take a 2-0 lead on New Zealand.
Djordje Mihailovic converted a penalty kick in the fourth minute, and USA Soccer has an early 1-0 lead against New Zealand. The goal is the first U.S. men’s Olympic goal scored in nearly 16 years, since the Beijing Olympics.
Ihor Krasnopir’s goal in stoppage time led Ukraine to a 2-1 victory over Morocco.
The updated standings in Group B: Argentina (4 points), Morocco, Ukraine and Iraq (3 points each).
Ahmed Koka scored in the 11th minute, and Egypt hung on to beat Uzbekistan 1-0.
The updated standings in Group C: Spain (6 points), Egypt (4 points), Dominican Republic (2 points), Uzbekistan (2 points).
No, Christian Pulisic is not playing with USA Soccer after his Copa America run with the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Here’s more on Pulisic and the Olympics.
No. Messi is not playing with Argentina. Neymar is not playing with Brazil. And Kylian Mbappe is not playing with France.
The Olympic soccer tournament is an under-23 affair, despite three players over the age of 23 allowed on each team.
Messi has an ankle injury after Copa America, but was not going to play. Neymar is still recovering from knee surgery. Mbappe, although healthy, is with Real Madrid.
Argentina will cruise to victory in their second match after Ezequiel Fernández scored in the 85th minute to secure a 3-1 lead over Iraq.
Luciano Gondou’s header in the 62nd minute has given Argentina a 2-1 lead over Iraq in the second half.
Fermin Lopez opened scoring for Spain in the 24th minute, but the Dominican Republic responded with a 38th-minute goal from Angel Emmanuel. Then, disaster struck and the DR received a red card. Edison Azcona was forced to exit the match after kicking up at an opponent. They will play a man down the rest of the match. Spain retook the lead in minute 55 with a goal from Alejandro Baena. Miguel Gutiérrez scored in the 70th minute for Spain.
Aymen Hussein’s header against Argentina’s right post was impossible for the goalkeeper to reach. Ahmed Hassan with the assist in stoppage time before halftime.
Thiago Almada shot from the left side to open scoring in the 13th minute. Julián Álvarez got the assists after chesting the ball down to the ground for Almada.
Argentina vs. Iraq, what to expect
Argentina was a gold-medal favorite entering the Olympics but finds itself in a difficult position entering this match after the video reply fiasco during their group play opening loss to Morocco.
A win is a must to get back into position to advance past the group stage, so Argentina will be coming out motivated. Iraq beat Ukraine in its opener, so it atop the Group B table with Morocco, both with three points.
Explaining Argentina vs. Morocco offside, VAR mess
Unruly soccer fans disrupted an Olympic match between Argentina and Morocco on Wednesday, turning a 2-2 draw to a 2-1 win for Morocco after Argentina’s late goal scored was disallowed after video review.
The chaotic scene created shockwaves, especially with players from both teams re-emerging to finish the match in an empty stadium after a delay of about two hours.
Referees took away the equalizer from Cristian Medina, after VAR showed Argentina was offside. The teams played for three minutes and 15 seconds after VAR completed its review and disallowed the goal.
“The biggest circus I’ve ever seen in my life,” Argentina coach Javier Mascherano said.
The rule came to be in advance of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. At the time, the Olympics was undergoing fundamental changes, shifting from a strictly amateur event to one that allowed professional athletes to compete (the 1992 Games, perhaps most famously, featured the “Dream Team”).
Given that switch, FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, put various barriers in place for players competing in the Olympics, which it didn’t want to possibly usurp the World Cup as the premier international soccer showcase. One of those measures was an age restriction. Additionally, since the Olympics are not a FIFA-sanctioned competition, club teams have the right to deny a player from taking part. Many clubs will forbid their players from competing in the Olympics and the Euros or Copa America in a single summer.
This reality makes men’s soccer drastically different than women’s soccer at the Olympics, as the women’s side has no such age limits. Read more.
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