“The confrontation between these two opponents is in many ways exactly what is needed for a tournament that is mainly for under-23 players, lacks stars and is facing a lack of attention from fans. grave", AFP shared.
This will be the first encounter between the two countries since some Argentina players sang inappropriate chants aimed at French players while celebrating the Copa America championship in mid-July.
FIFA has announced that it will investigate chants targeting France's star striker Kylian Mbappe and others, including inappropriate comments.
Argentina U23 players were booed by French fans during the Olympic tournament in Paris. The same thing will almost happen in the quarterfinals.
“With everything that has happened recently, everyone in France is affected, so let's see what happens in the quarter-finals,” warned French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta after when the home team ended the group stage with 3 wins.
This match will also be the first time the two sides face each other since the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, where Argentina won on penalties after a dramatic 3-3 draw.
However, the men's Olympic soccer tournament is an under-23 tournament, although each team has a maximum of 3 overage players. U23 Argentina has two overage players, Nicolas Otamendi and Julian Alvarez. Both also played in the 2022 World Cup final. On the French U23 side, they do not have any current stars who played in Qatar.
That might dampen the competition a bit, but in pure football terms it's still an exciting contest.
Argentina U23 is aiming for its third Olympic gold medal after winning in 2004 and 2008. Meanwhile, France U23 is aiming for the Olympic gold medal for the first time in 40 years, since the 1984 Olympics. in Los Angeles.
Thiago Almada of Argentina, a substitute player who was not allowed to play in the 2022 World Cup final, shared with TyC Sports Television: "If we want to win medals, we must be ready to face any opponent. , no matter where they are".
Neither team has many familiar stars. However, France U23 and Argentina U23 are both led by legends. On the home team's side is Thierry Henry - the 1998 World Cup champion. And Javier Mascherano - who won a gold medal as a player at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics is leading U23 Argentina.
The winner of the match U23 France vs U23 Argentina will meet U23 Egypt or U23 Paraguay. Meanwhile, U23 Morocco vs U23 USA and U23 Spain vs U23 Japan will create the remaining two quarterfinal pairs.
Spain is aiming for further glory just weeks after winning EURO 2024, with the goal of winning its second Olympic men's soccer gold medal after 1992. Japan comes to these Olympics with a young but talented squad. Only team outside of France to win all 3 group stage matches.
In women's soccer, the quarterfinals have 4 attractive matches: Canada vs Germany, USA vs Japan, Spain vs Colombia and France vs Brazil.
