Morocco Ol. vs USA Ol. prediction: WORLD: Olympic Games – Play Offs betting tips on match 2024-08-01 13:00.
[p]Morocco finally reached the knockout stage of the Olympic men’s football tournament at the eighth time of asking following a routine 3-0 win over Iraq that was secured thanks to three goals in the space of 17 first-half minutes. That victory meant that they ended up finishing top of Group A, pipping Argentina to first place on H2H record after an unforgettable tussle on matchday one.[/p]
[p]Coming top has allowed Morocco to avoid meeting favourites France in the quarter-finals, with supporters of the North Africans still perhaps wondering what might have been after Les Bleus denied their country a spot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. Instead, the Atlas Lions find themselves up against the United States of America, who they met in the 1972 Games in West Germany, contesting a goalless draw on that occasion.[/p]
[p]After defeating Guinea 3-0 on Tuesday, the USA are the joint-highest scorers at this tournament and have tended to be fast starters in France, with five of their seven goals coming in the opening 35 minutes. The opening stages of this game could well be eye-catching, as Morocco are no slouches either when it comes to making an early impression, and Marko Mitrović’s side will have to be wary of the weight of expectation after the Stars and Stripes’ recent underachievement in men’s Olympic football. [/p]
[p]The USA have only appeared in the semi-finals once in the modern day Olympic football format (2000), while they still sport the psychological scars of having failed to reach four of the five editions that followed. And after a painful summer as Copa América hosts in which they came third in a group featuring Bolivia and Panama, Mitrović’s squad have the opportunity to restore some much-needed national pride. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Morocco’s Soufiane Rahimi is the top scorer at this tournament with four goals and is the only player to have netted during every matchday to date. Rahimi’s fellow overage player Djordje Mihailovic is arguably the USA’s biggest attacking threat, having made it 1-0 inside 15 minutes in his nation’s two Olympic victories so far in France, while he has also been on the winning side in his last five scoring appearances for club and country. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: The USA’s last five Olympic matches have each featured at least three goals. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Alex Bowmer[/i][/p]