Paris, Aug 3: France reached the men's soccer semifinals of the Paris Olympics after beating Argentina 1-0 on Friday. French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta muscled in a header following a corner kick from Michael Olise in the fifth minute, which turned out to be the sole goal of the game, reported Xinhua.
Argentina's best chance came in the 36th minute when a cross found Soungoutou Magassa unmarked before the goal, but the defender's close range header flew over the bar. In the semifinal, France will face Egypt, which labored to beat Paraguay on penalties.
Both sides fought to a 1-1 draw in overtime, dragging the game into shoot out. Egypt prevailed by 5-4 in the penalty kicks after their goalkeeper Alaa Hamza saved Marcelo Pereze's effort from the spot. Paraguay looked to stand a better chance after Diego Gomez's goal put them 1-0 up in the 71st minute.
Egypt held their nerve and equalized in the 88th minute through Adel Ibrahim who scored on an assist from Zizo. In the other semifinal, Spain will take on Morocco. Spain thrashed Japan 3-0 thanks to a brace from Fermin Lopez and Abel Ruiz's goal. Japan hit the wood work twice and had a goal disallowed during the game.
Morocco hammered the United States 4-0. The African team imposed a tight control on the game as they managed eight shots on goal against the American side's one throughout the match.
