PARIS (News Wires) — Egypt moved one step closer to the Olympic men’s soccer quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over Uzbekistan at La Beaujoire Stadium in Nantes.
Ahmed Koka scored in the 11th minute and Egypt defeated Uzbekistan to move a step closer to the knockout phase.
The win, which took Young Pharaohs to four points in Group C, led by its Brazilian coach Rogero Micale, in second place, behind Spain, which they play on Tuesday.
A draw would be enough to see them advance.
The Dominican Republic will play Uzbekistan and are third on one point.
The Dominican national team comes in third place with one point, while Uzbekistan is at the bottom of the standings, with no points.
Ahmed Nabil Koka’s header from a deep cross fell to Osama Faisal, whose weak shot hit the post, AP reported.
Uzbek defender Mukhammadkodir Khamraliev then misjudged his clearance, striking it against Koka and inadvertently sending the ball into the net.
Uzbekistan responded well to going behind and had a chance to equalize midway through the first half.
Just before the break, Hamza Alaa in Egypt’s goal was called into action twice from long-range shots, while Ibrahim Adel missed a chance to double Egypt’s lead, sending his shot wide.
After the interval, Uzbekistan continued to press, with Jasurbek Jaloliddinov’s free-kick narrowly missing the target.
However, Egypt’s captain Mohamed Elneny responded with a superb curling shot from over 25 yards, which was expertly saved by Abduvohid Nematov.
Despite Uzbekistan’s late surge to stay in contention, Egypt’s defense held firm, maintaining their unbeaten run in 90 minutes to ten matches.
Morocco 1, Ukraine 2
Elsewhere, there was no reprieve for Morocco this time. After the chaos and violence that marred the end of their 2-1 win over Argentina in the Olympic men’s soccer tournament, Morocco conceded late again against Ukraine— and this time the goal stood.
On Wednesday, Morocco fans rushed the field and threw bottles in protest when Cristian Medina appeared to score an equalizer in the 16th minute of stoppage time for Argentina — causing the game to be suspended for around two hours. That goal was later disallowed by VAR for offside.
But there was no sign of a repeat of those scenes when Ihor Krasnopir scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time to seal a 2-1 win for 10-man Ukraine at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Morocco looked like they were edging closer to the quarter-finals after Soufiane Rahimi’s 64th-minute penalty leveled the game at 1-1.
The forward, who took his total to three goals for the Paris Games, won the spot kick when he was fouled by Volodymyr Saliuk. Saliuk was sent off for the offense.
Ukraine had taken the lead in the 22nd through Dmytro Kryskiv. Ukraine’s late win left all four teams in Group B tied on three points after Argentina shook off defeat to Morocco by beating Iraq 3-1 in Lyon.
Argentina 3, Iraq 1
While Iraq threatened to pull off another surprise when Aymen Hussein leveled the game 1-1 in first-half stoppage time, goals from Luciano Gondou and Ignacio Fernandez sealed victory for Argentina.
Thiago Almada, who Argentina coach Javier Mascherano said had a watch stolen when the team’s training base was robbed earlier this week, opened the scoring with a volley in the 14th at Stade de Lyon.
Gondou’s far-post header in the 62nd restored Argentina’s lead after Hussein’s goal and Fernandez curled in a long-range shot from the edge of the box in the 85th.
“There were two options: dwell on what happened or look ahead. We focused on what we can control, which is to play football,” Mascherano said.
US 4, New Zealand 1
Djordje Mihailovic converted a penalty as the United States pounced early in a 4-1 victory over New Zealand to stave off possible elimination at the Olympics.
A loss in Marseille could have ended the Americans’ chance to advance to the knockout round in just their second Olympic appearance. The US had lost to France in its Group A opener.
Mihailovic calmly hit the penalty in the eighth minute after Nathan Harriel was brought down in the box by Matthew Garbett.
Four minutes later, senior player Walker Zimmerman made it 2-0 when he poked in a goal in a scramble in front of the net following a free kick.
Gianluca Busio scored on a rebound at the half-hour mark and celebrated by dancing with teammate Kevin Paredes. Paxton Aaronson added a fourth goal in the 58th.
New Zealand avoided the shutout with Jesse Randall’s late goal.
New Zealand’s 2-1 opening victory over Guinea had put the team in a strong position to advance. The OlyWhites, as they are known, started the day second in the group to France.
The United States is set to play Guinea in its final group match Tuesday in Saint-Etienne. New Zealand plays France in Marseille.
New Zealand is making its fourth Olympic appearance. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Games after being disqualified for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics for using an ineligible player at a qualification tournament.
Spain 3, Dominican Republic 1
Spain reached the quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over the Dominican Republic in Bordeaux.
Goals from Fermín Lopez, Alex Baena and Miguel Gutierrez made it two wins from two for Spain in Group C.
Lopez scored in the 24th, but Angel Montes de Oca evened the game in the 38th.
The Dominican Republic’s Edison Azcona was sent off before halftime. Baena restored Spain’s lead in the 55th and Gutierrez sealed the win in the 70th.
Spain’s men are aiming to add to a golden period for its nation’s soccer teams after the women’s team won the World Cup last year and the men won the European Championship earlier this month.
