US men end 24-year wait to advance to the quarterfinals of the Olympics soccer tournament

SAINT-ETIENNE, France (AP) — Kevin Paredes scored two goals as the United States advanced to the quarterfinals of the Olympic men’s soccer tournament for the first time since Sydney 2000 by beating Guinea 3-0 on Tuesday.

Victory in Saint-Etienne ended a 24-year wait for the U.S. to reach the knockout phase and it will play Morocco in the quarterfinals in Paris on Friday.

First-half goals from Djordje Mihailovic and Paredes put the Americans on course for the next round. Paredes sealed the win with his second after the break.

The U.S. advanced in second place behind Group A winner France, which beat New Zealand 3-0.

France plays Argentina in the quarterfinals in a repeat of the World Cup final in 2022. The game is in Bordeaux on Friday.

France stays undefeated

France remained undefeated at the Olympics with a 3-0 victory over New Zealand in Marseille, to advance atop its group

France captain Jean-Philippe Mateta came down the left side and clipped the ball into the far corner in the 19th minute. He celebrated by high-fiving Rayan Cherki and the French fans in the crowd.

France made it 2-0 on Desire Doue’s goal in the 71st minute. Arnaud Kalimuendo added a third some three minutes later.

Goalkeeper Obed Nkambadio made a leaping save in stoppage time to preserve the clean sheet.

New Zealand was eliminated with the loss. The OlyWhites, as they are known, had advanced to the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Games but fell to Japan on penalties.

France won its lone Olympic gold medal in 1984.

Argentina advances

Thiago Almada scored a brilliant solo in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Ukraine.

Almada’s strike — two minutes into the second half in Lyon — set Argentina on course for the knockout phase with back-to-back wins following its shock opening defeat to Morocco. Claudio Echeverri sealed the win in the 91st minute.

But it was Almada’s goal that lit up the match. Collecting the ball just past the halfway line, he charged upfield before curling a shot past Ukraine goalkeeper Kiril Fesiun from around 25 yards.

Echeverri pounced to convert on the rebound to make it 2-0 after Fesiun had made a late save.

Morocco advanced as Group B winner after beating Iraq 3-0 in Nice.

Morocco and Argentina were level on points and had identical goal difference and goals scored. It meant Morocco took first place by virtue of its 2-1 win over Argentina at the start of the tournament, which included a delay of around two hours after Moroccan fans rushed the field.

Morocco raced to a 3-0 lead before halftime against Iraq.

Amir Richardson opened the scoring in the 19th and Soufiane Rahimi scored his fourth goal of the Games in the 28th

Abde Ezzalzouli made it 3-0 in the 36th.

Play was briefly suspended during the second half after a man holding a Palestinian flag invaded the pitch. He was swiftly removed by police. Several dozen riot police were then deployed along the field to prevent further incidents.

Egypt stuns Spain

Ibrahim Adel scored a pair of goals and Egypt advanced to the men’s soccer quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics atop its group by beating Spain 2-1 on Tuesday.

Spain had already reached the knockout round and was vying for a first-place finish in Group C but was instead leapfrogged by determined Egypt in Bordeaux.

In the other match of the group, the Dominican Republic played to a 1-1 tie with Uzbekistan, which had already been eliminated. The draw in Paris was not enough to get the Dominican Republic into the next round.

The quarterfinal matchups won’t be determined until Wednesday’s games are complete. The top two teams in each of the four groups advance.

Adel’s first goal came off a cross from Zizo late in the first half. His second came in the 62nd minute, when he worked around Spanish goalkeeper Alejandro Iturbe, who had come forward to stop him.

Samu Omorodion scored for Spain in the final moments of regulation but the comeback fell short.

In the group’s other match, Rafael Nunez converted on a penalty early in the second half to put the Dominican Republic in front, but Alisher Odilov tied it in the 58th.

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AP Sports writer Anne M. Peterson in Marseille and Barbara Surk in Nice contributed to this report.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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