USMNT crash out of Olympics with heavy quarter-final defeat to Morocco

Morocco advanced to the last four of the men’s Olympic soccer tournament for the first time after a dubious penalty from Soufiane Rahimi opened the scoring, second-half goals from Ilias Akhomach and Achraf Hakimi erased any remaining tension surrounding their progress, and an injury-time penalty from El Mehdi Maouhoub in a fit of mad overkill. The Atlas Lions, playing in front of what felt like a home crowd in the 16th arrondissement, denied the United States a second trip to the semifinals in 64 years and their first since finishing fourth in 2000.

Tarik Sektioui’s team have certainly felt like stars in this tournament since they kicked off their Opening Ceremony campaign with a 2-1 win over two-time gold medallist Argentina in a match that was halted for nearly two hours after a pitch invasion. But while Argentine referee Yael Falcón Pérez’s decision to award a penalty for the foul by American right back Nathan Harriel was harsh, the outcome, even before the second-half onslaught, was the right one on a sun-drenched afternoon when the Americans saw little of the ball and saw what rough drives into the final third they could easily stamp out. By the end of the match, the U.S. had manufactured just one attempt on goal.

The Americans, led by Marko Mitrović, were back at the Olympic tournament for the first time in 16 years and were in the quarterfinals for only the third time in a century. They were up against a well-drilled Moroccan, who had brought most of his best players of that age (and his best player over that age), as well as 48,229 of his most fervent fans, who booed every American touch.

In what became a familiar tone, Morocco held possession for the opening stages and won a pair of corners that came to nothing. Almost surprisingly, it was the US who had the first chance of the afternoon on nine minutes when a Walker Zimmerman free kick to Paxten Aaronson resulted in a shot just wide of the target. But Morocco responded with a shot of their own four minutes later via Akhomach, who played 41 times for Villarreal last year, which US keeper Patrick Schulte tried to tip over the bar.

What was shaping up to be a busy day for Schulte continued for the next 15 minutes as Morocco unleashed a flurry of attacks. When the referee pointed to the spot in the 26th minute after Harriel was deemed the aggressor amid a group of three players who all held up their boots to find the ball, it almost felt like a relief. Given the Americans’ lackluster start, the game seemed a handshake away after Rahimi calmly slotted the penalty inside the post.

On those occasions when the US managed to break the Moroccan press, the quality gap between the sides was laid bare, and the tactical naivety of the Americans exposed. Not long after the US’s second credible attempt on goal was blocked by Aaronson for a corner, Morocco picked up where they had left off before half-time. Any righteous indignation the US might have had from the soft penalty was made redundant on 63 minutes when a chain reaction of individual errors and breakdowns ended with Akhomach smashing home Oussama Targhalline’s cross to double Morocco’s lead. Less than six minutes later, Hakimi made it three, capitalizing on a similar comedy of errors. In what felt like a treat for their supporters, Morocco added a fourth with Maohoub’s injury-time penalty that was upheld by VAR.

Amid what has been a terrible year for U.S. soccer, the progress of the Under-23s provided some much-needed relief, as Mitrović’s youngsters rebounded from a 3-0 loss to favorites France in their opening match to reach the knockout stages with a second-place finish in Group A. But any positive vibes that had built up over the past week and a half were quickly dashed on Friday afternoon.

Morocco is now just two victories away from becoming the third African team to win the men’s Olympic gold medal, after Nigeria in 1996 and Cameroon in 2000.