France secured a spot in the Olympic men’s soccer semifinals by defeating Argentina 1-0 in Bordeaux, thanks to an early goal by Jean-Philippe Mateta. The match, played on Friday, saw the Argentine team facing boos from a hostile home crowd throughout the game. Tensions escalated into post-match skirmishes between players immediately after the final whistle, requiring intervention to break up the altercation.
The scene turned chaotic with shoving among players before they were eventually separated. Several French players initially left the pitch but returned shortly afterwards to acknowledge their fans. Mateta’s decisive header came in the fifth minute under the guidance of coach Thierry Henry, setting up a semifinal clash against Egypt.
The situation intensified when Mateta was celebrating his goal with team captain Alexandre Lacazette. Both noticed the commotion and rushed back along with Henry and Argentina’s coach Javier Mascherano, who restrained one of his staff members from getting involved.
“I went to shake the opposing coach’s hand and suddenly saw a lot happening,” Henry commented post-game. “I don’t like seeing this kind of behavior. It wasn’t necessary.”
As French fans celebrated, security personnel, including riot police, surrounded the small group of Argentine supporters in the stadium. France’s midfielder Enzo Millot received a red card during the fracas and will miss the semifinal match.
Henry lamented the loss of Millot, saying, “We didn’t want to lose a player to suspension, especially since he wasn’t even playing at the final whistle. It’s frustrating; we were all united, but the red card on the bench is a downside.”
The game, primarily an under-23 competition, was a highly anticipated rematch for French fans eager for payback after Argentina’s dramatic penalty shootout win in the 2022 World Cup final. The match also followed a racism scandal involving Argentina players celebrating with an offensive song about French players of African heritage. This controversy intensified the already high-stakes atmosphere.
Argentina’s national anthem faced jeers and whistles from the home crowd, who continued to boo Argentine players whenever they touched the ball after kickoff. Mateta’s early goal from Michael Olise’s corner kick set a frenzied tone, putting the hosts ahead.
Despite recovering from the early blow, Argentina missed a crucial chance to level the score before halftime when Giuliano Simeone’s header went over the bar from close range. Tensions rose again as Mateta checked on a teammate receiving treatment, but Lacazette and Argentina keeper Gerónimo Rulli quickly diffused the situation.
The crowd responded exuberantly when Mascherano received a yellow card, and as the game progressed, the home fans taunted the Argentine team by chanting “Ils sont où les Argentins?” (Where are the Argentines?), referencing their lack of scoring.
France believed they had scored a second goal in the 84th minute through Olise, but it was disallowed following a VAR review for an earlier foul. Despite this, France held their ground to secure the victory.
France, having won their only Olympic title in 1984, advance to face Egypt, who earlier beat Paraguay 5-4 in a shootout after a 1-1 draw. Ibrahim Adel’s decisive penalty secured Egypt’s place in the semifinals after Hamza Alaa saved a crucial shot by Marcelo Perez.
In other quarterfinal matches, Spain defeated Japan 3-0 to set up a semifinal against Morocco, who dominated the United States with a 4-0 victory. Spain’s win was sealed by a Fermín López double and an Abel Ruiz goal, echoing their semifinal victory over Japan at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.