USA soccer advances to Olympics knockout round for first time since 2000. How it happened
Seven teams have already advanced to the Olympic men’s soccer knockout stage, and one more country will join them as the group stage concludes Tuesday.
USA Soccer has advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in 24 years, finishing second in Group A after a 3-0 win against Guinea on Tuesday, behind two goals by Kevin Paredes and an early score by Djordje Mihailovic.
The U.S., competing in its first Olympics since Beijing 2008, has reached the knockout stage for the first time since Sydney 2000. They will face a tough test against Group B winner Morocco in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Host France won Group A, Morocco and Argentina are moving on from Group B, Egypt and Spain have advanced from Group C, and Japan is in the knockout round from Group D.
Here’s everything you need to know about the final Group Stage day in Olympic men’s soccer with live updates brought to you by USA TODAY Sports:
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Olympic men’s soccer games today
Group A – United States 3, Guinea 0
Group A – France 3, New Zealand 0
Group B – Argentina 2, Ukraine 0
Group B – Morocco 3, Iraq 0
Group C – Egypt 2, Spain 1
Group C – Dominican Republic 1, Uzbekistan, 1
Group D – Paraguay 1, Mali 0 in first half (Telemundo)
Group D – Israel 0, Japan 0 in first half (Peacock)
How to watch Olympic men’s soccer: TV channel, streaming
TV channel: USA Network | NBC Universo | Telemundo
Streaming options: NBCOlympics.com | NBC app | NBC Olympics app | Peacock | Fubo (free trial)
USA Soccer advances to Paris Olympics men’s soccer quarterfinals, highlights
USA Soccer is in the knockout stage at the Paris Olympics.
Kevin Paredes earned a brace with goals in each half, Djordje Mihailovic scored in the opening minutes, and the U.S. beat Guinea 3-0 on Tuesday.
The U.S. men’s national under-23 team finished second place in Group A behind host France, and will face a tough test against Group B winner Morocco in the quarterfinals.
France advanced after a 3-0 win against New Zealand, and will face Group B runner-up Argentina in the quarterfinals – a juicy matchup after Lionel Messi’s Argentina beat Kylian Mbappé’s France at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Paris Olympics men’s soccer quarterfinals games on Friday
Here are Olympics men’s soccer quarterfinal games for Friday, Aug. 2
∎Morocco vs. United States (9 a.m. ET)
∎Group D winner vs. Spain (11 a.m. ET)
∎Egypt vs. Group D runner-up (1 p.m. ET)
∎France vs. Argentina (3 p.m. ET)
How does Paraguay or Mali advance in Olympics?
With Japan leading, here are the possible scenarios in Group D:
∎Paraguay: A win vs. Mali; tie vs. Mali and Israel lose/tie; tie vs. Mali and better goal differential if Israel wins.
∎Mali: A victory vs. Paraguay.
Morocco, Argentina advance to men’s soccer quarterfinal
Morocco seized Group B with a 3-0 win over Iraq, while Argentina advanced with a 2-0 win against Ukraine as both winners reached the Paris Olympics men’s soccer quarterfinal.
Amir Richardson (19’), Soufiane Rahimi (28’) and Abde Ezzalzouli (36’) scored first-half goals for Morocco.
Thiago Almada (47’) and Claudio Echeverri (90+1’) scored for Argentina, which finished second in Group B despite controversially losing 2-1 to Morocco in the opening match.
Egypt beats Spain 2-1, both advance to men’s soccer knockout stage
Ibrahim Adel had a brace, scoring a goal in each half, to fuel Egypt’s 2-1 win against Spain and first-place finish in Group C. Both teams will advance to the quarterfinals.
Samu Omorodion scored in the 90th minute for Spain, which entered the day with a spot in the knockout round already clinched, but enter the knockout stage as the Group C runner-up.
Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan are both eliminated from the Paris Olympics after their 1-1 draw.
Kevin Paredes’ second goal gives US Soccer 3-0 lead vs. Guinea
Kevin Paredes has a brace after his second goal in the 75th minute to give U.S. Soccer a 3-0 lead against Guinea.
The U.S. will face a stiff challenge against Morocco in the quarterfinal Friday if the result holds.
Arnaud Kalimuendo goal helps France take 3-0 lead vs. New Zealand
France adds another as Arnaud Kalimuendo scores in the 74th minute to take a 3-0 lead against New Zealand.
France will go on to punch its ticket to the quarterfinal, where Argentina awaits Friday. The countries met at the 2022 World Cup.
Désiré Doué goal: France goes up 2-0 vs. New Zealand
Désiré Doué scored in the 71st minute, and France has doubled its lead against New Zealand.
With France and the U.S. both up 2-0, they will advance to the knockout stage in the Paris Olympics.
Kevin Paredes goal: USA Soccer has 2-0 lead vs. Guinea
Kevin Paredes scored in the 31st minute, and USA Soccer has a 2-0 lead against Guinea with hopes to reach the knockout stage at the Paris Olympics.
Djordje Mihailovic scored a goal on a free kick in the 14th minute to spark the lead.
France, up 1-0 against New Zealand early, and USA Soccer will advance from Group A if the results hold.
Jean-Philippe Mateta goal gives France 1-0 lead vs. New Zealand
France is on the board early after a goal by Jean-Philippe Mateta in the 19th minute to take a 1-0 lead against New Zealand.
France and USA Soccer would advance from Group A if the results from both matches hold.
Djordje Mihailovic's free kick goal gives USA Soccer 1-0 lead vs. Guinea
USA Soccer is off to a fast start after Djordje Mihailovic's goal from a free kick in the 14th minute to take a 1-0 lead against Guinea.
Claudio Echeverri goal: Argentina takes 2-0 lead late vs. Ukraine
Argentina has punched its ticket to the knockout stage after Claudio Echeverri’s goal in stoppage time secured a 2-0 lead against Ukraine in the closing minutes.
USA men's soccer Olympic team starting lineup vs. Guinea
Here's the starting lineup for USA Soccer's match today vs. Guinea at 1 p.m. ET on USA in English, Telemundo in Spanish.
Thiago Almada goal: Argentina leads 1-0 vs. Ukraine in second half
Thiago Almada has scored in the 47th minute for Argentina’s 1-0 lead to begin the second half against Ukraine. A win puts Argentina into the knockout stage at the Paris Olympics, but it still trails 3-2 in goal differential to Morocco.
Halftime: Morocco up 3-0 vs. Iraq, while Argentina vs. Ukraine is scoreless
Morocco is on its way to punching a ticket to the Olympic men’s soccer quarterfinal with its 3-0 start against Iraq.
Amir Richardson (19’), Soufiane Rahimi (28’) and Abde Ezzalzouli (36’) have scored in the first half for Morocco, which has taken the lead in Group B with a 3-1 edge in goal differential over Argentina.
Argentina and Ukraine are scoreless at halftime, with either team needing a win to join Morocco in the knockout stage.
Morocco on fire with 3-0 start in first half vs. Iraq
Abde Ezzalzouli has scored in the 36th minute to help Morocco's 3-0 start against Iraq. Morocco has taken a 3-1 goal differential lead over Argentina in Group B.
Amir Richardson has scored in the 19th minute, and Soufiane Rahimi scored a header in the 28th minute earlier in the first half.
Morocco needs a win or draw to advance to the knockout stage out of Group B.
Samu Omorodion's goal gets Spain on the board vs. Egypt
Samu Omorodion scored in the 90th minute for Spain, which entered the day with a spot in the knockout round. If the result holds, they'll enter the quarterfinals as the Group C runner-up behind Egypt.
Alisher Odilov goal: Uzbekistan ties it up vs. Dominican Republic
Alisher Odilov has scored in the 58th minute to help Uzbekistan draw even against Dominican Republic. With Uzbekistan already eliminated, DR needs to go on a major scoring run to have the goals needed to touch Egypt and Spain.
Ibrahim Adel's brace gives Egypt 2-0 lead vs. Spain
Egypt standout Ibrahim Adel has a brace, scoring his second goal of the match against Spain. A reminder, Egypt and Spain will advance out of Group C if this result holds, but Spain would enter as the group runner-up.
Rafael Núñez scores penalty goal, Dominican Republic takes 1-0 lead vs. Uzbekistan
Rafael Núñez converted a penalty kick in the 51st minute to help the Dominican Republic take a 1-0 lead to begin the second half.
Ibrahim Adel goal: Egypt takes 1-0 vs. Spain
Ibrahim Adel has given Egypt a 1-0 lead with his right boot in the 40th minute. Egypt needs a win or draw to advance with Spain to the knockout stage out of Group C.
Men's soccer Olympic groups for Paris, updated standings
Group A
- France | 9 points
- United States | 6 points
- New Zealand | 3 points (eliminated)
- Guinea | 0 points (eliminated)
Group B
- Morocco | 6 points
- Argentina | 6 points
- Ukraine | 3 points (eliminated)
- Iraq | 3 points (eliminated)
Group C
- Egypt | 7 points
- Spain | 6 points
- Dominican Republic | 2 points (eliminated)
- Uzbekistan | 1 point (eliminated)
Group D
- Japan | 6 points
- Paraguay | 3 points
- Mali | 1 points
- Israel | 1 points
Olympics 2024: Men's soccer knockout rounds schedule
∎Friday: Quarterfinals
∎Monday: Semifinals
∎August 8: Men's bronze medal match, 11 a.m.
∎August 9: Men's gold medal match, Noon