Argentina beats Ukraine 2-0 to reach the quarterfinals of the Olympic men's soccer tournament

Tue, Jul 30, 2024
Soccer News (AP)

SAINT-ETIENNE, France (AP) - Thiago Almada scored a brilliant solo goal and Argentina advanced to the quarterfinals of the Olympic men's soccer tournament with a 2-0 win over Ukraine on Tuesday.

Almada's strike - two minutes into the second half in Lyon - set Argentina on course for the knockout phase with back-to-back wins following its shock opening defeat to Morocco. Claudio Echeverri sealed the win in the 91st minute.

But it was Almada's goal that lit up the match. Collecting the ball just past the halfway line, he charged upfield before curling a shot past Ukraine goalkeeper Kiril Fesiun from around 25 yards.

Echeverri pounced to convert on the rebound to make it 2-0 after Fesiun had made a late save.

Morocco also advanced by beating Iraq 3-0 in Nice.

Egypt advances

Ibrahim Adel scored a pair of goals and Egypt advanced to the men's soccer quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics atop its group by beating Spain 2-1 on Tuesday.

Spain had already reached the knockout round and was vying for a first-place finish in Group C but was instead leapfrogged by determined Egypt in Bordeaux.

In the other match of the group, the Dominican Republic played to a 1-1 tie with Uzbekistan, which had already been eliminated. The draw in Paris was not enough to get the Dominican Republic into the next round.

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The quarterfinal matchups won't be determined until Wednesday's games are complete. The top two teams in each of the four groups advance.

Adel's first goal came off a cross from Zizo late in the first half. His second came in the 62nd minute, when he worked around Spanish goalkeeper Alejandro Iturbe, who had come forward to stop him.

Samu Omorodion scored for Spain in the final moments of regulation but the comeback fell short.

In the group's other match, Rafael Nunez converted on a penalty early in the second half to put the Dominican Republic in front, but Alisher Odilov tied it in the 58th.

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AP Sports writer Anne M. Peterson in Marseille contributed to this report.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games