Morocco defeated Egypt 6-0 at the Stade de la Beaujoire on Thursday, earning their first Paris 2024 Olympics medal at the eighth attempt.
For the Atlas Lions, Abde Ezzalzouli and Soufiane Rahimi made an impression. Their goals in the first half propelled Tarik Sektioui’s team to a podium finish at the Games.
After the break, an outstanding performance was further enhanced by goals from captain Achraf Hakimi, Rahimi, Bilal El Khannouss, and Akram Nakach.
Ezzalzouli’s curling attempt from outside the box gave Morocco a great start, and Rahimi’s strong header three minutes later added a second.
After Rahimi scored his sixth goal of the competition shortly after the hour, El Khannouss’ goal placed the outcome beyond dispute.
Rahimi then took on the role of provider to set up Nakach inside the area, and Hakimi finished off a great performance with a beautiful dead ball effort that went past Hamza Alaa.
Morocco made a triumphant comeback to the Olympic Games in London, 12 years after their previous participation. They concluded an outstanding campaign with a well-earned bronze medal.
Rahimi, who plays football for Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates, is currently leading the competition for the Golden Boot ahead of Jean-Philippe Mateta of France and Fermin Lopez of Spain. Rahimi has maybe been the most impressive player of the tournament.
With Rahimi adding 0.82 to Morocco’s xG total (1.24), they surpassed their expected goals (xG) by 4.76. Rahimi also registered the most touches in the opponent box (seven) and the most shots on target (two).
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