Egypt U23 vs Morocco U23 Match Analysis & Prediction
08/08/2024 6:00 pm
Battling it out for bronze at the Paris 2024 Olympics, regional rivals Egypt U23 and Morocco U23 meet on Thursday evening at Stade de la Beaujoire – Louis Fonteneau in Nantes.
Finding a late equaliser before eliminating Paraguay in the quarter-finals kept Egypt’s dreams of a first Olympic Games football medal alive and set up a semi-final tie with tournament hosts France on Monday.
However, despite leading with 10 minutes to go, Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice to deny the Pharaohs a spot in the final, as France fought back to win 3-1 after extra time in Lyon.
After equalising following Mahmoud Saber’s close-range opener, the Crystal Palace striker headed Les Bleus in front once Omar Fayed had been sent off for a second bookable offence – Michael Olise then added some gloss to the final scoreline.
Nonetheless, Rogerio Micale’s side have still beaten Egypt’s previous bst performances at the Olympics – quarter-final exits at both London 2012 and in Tokyo three years ago.
Having beaten Spain en route to topping Group C and then pushed France so close in the semi-finals, Egypt will now fancy their chances of gaining revenge on Morocco, who deposed them as Under-23 AFCON champions last summer.
Meanwhile, after topping Group B ahead of Argentina before beating the United States in the quarter-finals, Morocco went into the semi-final tie against Spain full of confidence, as they sought a spot in the gold-medal match.
However, their remarkable run ended at Stade Velodrome, where they saw their hopes dashed by a second-half fightback. After main marksman Soufiane Rahimi scored from the spot, they let that lead slip to lose 2-1.
Fermin Lopez equalised in the 68th minute, before the Barcelona star set up Juanlu Sanchez for Spain’s second just as extra time loomed, so the Moroccan squad’s bit to repeat the senior team’s World Cup heroics against La Roja ultimately fell short.
While Walid Regragui’s side finished fourth in Qatar, losing the third-place playoff, Tarik Sektioui’s young squad now hope to triumph in the Olympics’ equivalent, with Thursday’s consolation game determining who takes home the bronze medal.
Winners of last year’s Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations, where they beat Egypt to take the trophy on home turf, a high-stakes re-match with the Pharaohs now awaits.
Egypt U23 vs. Morocco U23 Head to head
In the previous three meetings between these two teams, they have claimed a victory each while drawing once.
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02/09/2014Morocco U233Egypt U233U23 National Team Friendlies
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06/09/2014Morocco U231Egypt U232U23 National Team Friendlies
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08/07/2023Morocco U23E 2Egypt U231CAF U23 Cup of Nations
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08/08/2024N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
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08/08/2024Egypt U23N/AMorocco U23N/AOlympics
Egypt U23 Team News
After key midfielder Bilal El Khannous missed Morocco’s semi-final defeat due to suspension, he will be back in the fold for Thursday’s bronze-medal match.
Al Ain striker Soufiane Rahimi, who has racked up six goals from five matches so far, is supported by former Barcelona wingers Ilias Akhomach and Abde Ezzalzouli in the final third.
Egypt U23's Last 5 Matches
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24/07/2024Egypt U230Domincan Republic U230Olympics
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27/07/2024Uzbekistan U230Egypt U231Olympics
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30/07/2024Spain U231Egypt U232Olympics
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02/08/2024Egypt U23P 1Paraguay U231Olympics
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05/08/2024France U23E 3Egypt U231Olympics
Morocco U23 Team News
Egypt must make a change in defence, as they will be without Omar Fayed, who is suspended following a red card against France.
Osama Faisal and Zizo shoild join Ibrahim Adel in an attacking triumbirate once again, while captain Mohamed Elneny should shield a back four in a 4-1-2-3 formation.
Morocco U23's Last 5 Matches
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24/07/2024Argentina U231Morocco U232Olympics
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27/07/2024Ukraine U232Morocco U231Olympics
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30/07/2024Morocco U233Iraq U230Olympics
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02/08/2024Morocco U234United States U230Olympics
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05/08/2024Morocco U231Spain U232Olympics
Egypt U23 vs. Morocco U23: Odds and Predictions
Main Prediction
1X2: 2
Best Odds
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