USA vs. Morocco preview: Semifinals bid at stake

By reaching the quarterfinals, the US men’s team now has a chance to play for a medal at these Olympics. The USA finished second in Group A, and as a result, got to play Group B winners Morocco in the quarterfinals. The winner of this game goes to the semifinals with a chance to play for a medal.

USA’s group stage recap

The US got their Olympics off to a bit of a rough start. Of course, playing the host nation in the opening game is always a tough challenge. It’s an even tougher challenge when that host nation is France. The US defended well for an hour but eventually fell 3-0.

They bounced back nicely in their second game though. Against New Zealand, the US was flying. They scored early on a penalty by Djordje Mihailovic and didn’t look back. Walker Zimmerman, Gianluca Busio, and Paxten Aaronson all added goals. In the end, they ran out 4-1 winners.

To close out group play, the US knew a win would see them through to the knockout rounds. It didn’t take long for the US to go 1-0 up on Guinea, once again from Djordje Mihailovic. From that point on it was the Kevin Paredes show as he scored two goals to lock up the three points for the US. With the win, the US advanced to the knockout rounds at the Olympics for the first time since 2000.

Huge opportunity for the Americans

Friday’s game against Morocco represents a massive opportunity for the US. If they win, they have a chance to play for a medal. Winning a medal would be a historic achievement for American soccer. The US has never won an international tournament away from home and hasn’t made the podium at the Olympics since the 1904 Games in St. Louis when American school teams competed.

A win against Morocco would not only give the US a chance to play for a medal but also wash away some disappointment with the senior team. The Copa America was hosted in the US this summer and the US bombed out big time. They were eliminated in the group stage and manager Gregg Berhalter was fired. A medal at these Olympics would go some way towards starting to rebuild momentum for the 2026 World Cup.

Morocco advances as first in its group

Morocco seems to be establishing itself as a regular in the knockout rounds at international tournaments.

Their full national team famously made a miracle run to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. They then topped their group at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations before falling in the Round of 16. Now, their U23 team is in the quarterfinals at the Olympics.

To get to the quarterfinals, Morocco topped their group. They bizarrely won their opening game against Argentina, as the game felt like it had been over for nearly two hours before a VAR check ruled out Argentina’s last-gasp equalizer.

They then suffered a shock loss in their second game against Ukraine, conceding the winner in the 98th minute. They bounced back nicely with a resounding 3-0 win against Iraq and finished top of the group thanks to their win against Argentina, despite each team having six points.

Where to watch USA vs. Morocco

The winner of the USA-Morocco game will advance to the semifinals to take on the winner of the Spain-Japan game. Friday’s game is set for a 9 am ET kickoff and can be viewed in English on USA and in Spanish on Telemundo.

PHOTOS: IMAGO.