The U23 French team delivered an impressive performance by defeating New Zealand 3-0. This result secured their top position in Group A and set up a quarterfinal clash with Argentina in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
In the early morning of July 31 (Vietnam time), two matches in Group A of the men’s football event at the 2024 Olympics took place without any surprises.
At the Marseille stadium, coach Thierry Henry made several changes to the starting lineup. This was entirely reasonable as the French Olympic team had already secured their spot in the quarterfinals.
In the 19th minute, the hosts broke the deadlock with a stunning goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta. The striker, currently playing for Crystal Palace, excited the audience with his performance.
The early goal did not lead to an improved performance for France. On the contrary, New Zealand played with great determination. If the US Olympic team had lost to Guinea, New Zealand could have still secured second place in Group A.
However, despite continuous shots from Ben Waine, Sarpreet Singh, and Michael Boxall of New Zealand, they couldn’t get past French Olympic goalkeeper Obed Nkambadio.
The fate of the match was sealed in the 71st minute when midfielder Desire Doue scored to double the lead. Just three minutes later, Doue made his mark again by contributing to Arnaud Kalimuendo’s goal, sealing a 3-0 victory for the French Olympic team.
Coach Thierry Henry led the French team to win all three matches in Group A, advancing to the quarterfinals where they will face Olympic Argentina on August 2.
In the other match, the US Olympic team also secured a 3-0 victory over Guinea at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Mihailovic and a double from Kevin Paredes helped the US team advance to the quarterfinals, where they will meet Morocco.