According to the match schedule, the Argentina U23 team will face Morocco U23 in the Paris 2024 Olympic football group B. Of course, both teams want a good start in the opening match.
U23 Argentina are under more pressure than their opponents when entering the tournament with the goal of winning a gold medal, following the success of their seniors in recent years.
However, Argentina's young players have not been in good form recently. Right before the 2024 Olympics, they lost 0-1 to Guinea in a friendly match. If only counting official tournaments, Argentina U23 also drew 3/4 of their most recent matches.
Argentina did not choose many quality stars for the 3 over-age spots at the 2024 Olympics. In addition to Julian Alvarez, coach Javier Mascherano only brought goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and veteran Nicolas Otamendi.
On the other side, Morocco U23 is not a team that is easily bullied. They only received one defeat in the last 4 friendly matches. If counted in the last 10 matches, the African representative won 4, drew 3 and lost 3. In that series of matches for Morocco, including victories against strong opponents like U23 Brazil.
Regarding the personnel situation, Argentina's 18-player squad for the tournament includes 4 World Cup champions: Julian Alvarez, Nicolas Otamendi, Geronimo Rulli and Thiago Almada. 3 of these 4 players are also part of the Argentina squad that just won the 2024 Copa America.
Meanwhile, Morocco also has the strongest force. Achraf Hakimi - a player playing for Paris St Germain - is the most prominent star that Morocco brings to this year's tournament.
The match between U23 Argentina and U23 Morocco takes place at 8:00 p.m. today (July 24).
Link to watch live: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6427282
