Nathan Harriel (#2) of Team USA competes for the ball during the Paris Olympics quarterfinal match against Morocco on Friday at the Parc des Princes.
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PARIS — First World Cup. And now at the Olympics.
Morocco shocked the football world by reaching the semi-finals of a major tournament.
Unfortunately for the United States, a 4-0 win over Morocco in the quarterfinals sent the weakened Americans out of the country without a chance at a medal.
At the 2022 World Cup, Morocco became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the world’s biggest sporting event and now the country is advancing deep into a major tournament.
At the Olympics, men’s teams have roster restrictions, requiring most players to be under 23 years of age.
In Paris, Morocco opened the scoring in the 29th minute through Soufiane Rahimi. After the break, they added three more goals in the 63rd and 70th minutes and a late penalty in the 91st minute to seal the win over the United States.
The United States started this summer’s Olympics with a unfortunate defeat against host country France in the opening group stage match. But then the Americans beat New Zealand and Guinea to advance to their first quarterfinals since 2000 (and just the second time the Americans have made it to the knockout stages of the Olympics since the current tournament was introduced in 1960).
Morocco’s next match is Monday’s semi-final against either Japan or Spain.
