Bounced out: The U.S. men's soccer team loses Olympic quarterfinal game to Morocco

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PARIS — First the World Cup . And now at the Olympics.

Morocco has shocked the soccer world to reach the semifinals of a major tournament.

Unfortunately for the U.S., Morocco's 4-0 quarterfinal victory sends the scrappy and surprising American team home without the chance to play for a medal.

At the 2022 World Cup, Morocco became the first African country to reach the semifinals of the world's biggest sporting event and now the country makes another deep run at a big tournament. And, with this victory, Morocco has advanced its furthest ever at a Summer Games which also includes a win over Argentina.

At the Olympics, men's teams have roster restrictions which require nearly all players to be under 23 years old.

In Paris, Morocco started the scoring in the 29th minute with a penalty kick goal by Soufiane Rahimi. After halftime, they added three more goals in the 63rd and 70th minutes and a late penalty kick in the 91st to seal the victory against the Americans.

The U.S. started these Summer Games with a shaky loss to host nation France in the opening match of group play. But then the Americans defeated New Zealand and Guinea to advance to their first quarterfinals appearance since 2000 (and just the second time the U.S. reached the knockout round at an Olympics since the current tournament was introduced in 1960).

The U.S. exits with a 2-2 record.

Next up for Morocco is a semifinal matchup Monday against Spain.

Copyright 2024 NPR

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