THE quarter-finals of men's football at the 2024 Olympics will take place on Friday, 2 August and the first match sees Morcco take on the USA in Paris.
Morocco have surprised everyone by qualifying from Group B as the winners with their controversial victory over Argentina in their opening match proving to be decisive.
The USA have fought back well from their opening defeat to France and they will now believe they can extend their Olympic journey and guarantee themselves a Bronze medal match as a minimum with a win here.
How the bookies view it: A close match to call
Morocco are the narrow favourite to come through this match and reach the semi-finals of the tournament. A Morocco win inside 90 minutes has been priced at 6/5 with Betfred while a USA victory has been priced at 15/8. The draw, which would mean an extra 30 minutes of action, has been priced at 9/4.
Recent head-to-head: A second Olympic meeting
As far as their full teams are concerned, the USA and Morocco have only ever faced off on four occasions in the past with Morocco winning three and the USA winning one. At under 23 level, the two teams met as recently as November 2023 with Morcco coming out on top 1-0.
While that encounter is useful for predicting the outcome on Friday, it's also worth noting that these two nations have met at the Olympics before. Back in 1972, the two sides played out a bore 0-0 draw in the group stages.
Players to watch: Tournament top scorer leads the way
Soufiane Rahimi has been the standout male footballer at the Olympics so far with the 28-year-old more than justifying his over-age selection thus far. Although he plays his club football in the UAE, Rahimi has shown zero signs of being overawed by the jump in quality and had more than made his mark.
The Moroccan has netted four goals in three matches so far, including a brace against Argentina. He has scored at least once in every match and the USA will do very well to prevent him from making it five goals in four matches.
Meanwhile, the USA's biggest dangerman is Dorde Mihailovic. The playmaker has scored two goals and provided one assist in the USA's last two matches at the tournament and is the man most likely to find a way through the Moroccan defence.
Predicted line-ups
The USA will be looking to bring Gianluca Busio back into the starting XI after the Venezia midfielder sat out the win over Guinea with a leg injury. Morocco, meanwhile, will likely stick with the same XI that defeated Iraq.
Morocco: Munir – Hakimi, Al Azzouzi, Boukamir, El Ouahdi – Targhalline, Ricahrdson – Akhomach, El Khannouss, Ezzalzouli – Rahimi
USA: Schulte – Harriel, Robinson, Zimmerman, Tolkin – Tessmann, Busio, Mihailovic – Paredes, Yow, Aaronson
Anything else catch the eye?
All six matches involving these teams at the Olympics so far have seen a minimum of three goals scored which means we are all set up for a quarter-final cracker on Friday afternoon. Over 2.5 goals to be scored in this one has been priced at 10/11 with Betfred.
This Olympics match between Morocco and USA will be played on Aug 2, 2024 and kick off at 14:00. Check below for our tipsters best Morocco vs USA prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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