Medal hopes were altered by the end of Matchday 2 of the men's soccer tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
A day that started with the surprise vibes of desperate Argentina meeting comfortable Iraq initially appeared set to deliver shocks, but both the Argentine side and Spain survived scares to cruise to wins.
Uzbekistan was later eliminated as Egypt positioned itself well for the knockout rounds, while the United States clobbered New Zealand and Paraguay got just desserts in a wild six-goal affair with Israel.
And Japan joined Spain as guaranteed knockout-round participants, with France in terrific position heading into Matchday 3.
Take a look at the results from Matchday 2 of the men’s tournament.
Argentina vs Iraq
Argentina wasted little time responding to its opening-game consternation, scoring early en route to a 3-1 win over Iraq on Saturday at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.
Manchester City star Julian Alvarez had two assists and Thiago Almada, Luciano Gondou and Ignacio Fernandez scored, with Almada's strike coming in the first quarter-hour.
The performance delivered coach Javier Mascherano a deserved three points and renewed hope of a medal, as Argentina and Iraq are level with Morocco on three points before Ukraine and Morocco scrap later Saturday.
Almada's incisive finish of a clever torso pass from Alvarez put the favorites ahead in the 13th minute, and Gondou's solid 62nd-minute header of a Kevin Zenon cross restored its advantage after Iraq had it 1-1 at the half.
Iraq's response to Almada came just before the break, as Aymen Hussein darted in front of Nicolas Otamendi to head home Ahmed Hasan's cross from the left.
Argentina's third goal of the match was likely its best, as quick passing led to Fernandez's powerful strike across goal in the 85th minute. -- Nicholas Mendola
Dominican Republic vs Spain
Tested but ready Spain took three points from a 3-1 win against the Dominican Republic in Bordeaux.
From the start, Spain was tasked to break down a stingy Dominican side that was comfortable sitting behind the ball to absorb pressure.
Barcelona midfielder Fermin Lopez was able to break the deadlock in the 24th minute. Surprisingly, though, the Dominican Republic was able to equalize thanks to a header by Angel Montes de Oca after a cross was sent into the box off a corner kick – marking the first goal that the Dominican Republic has scored at the Olympics ever.
The drama in the first half didn’t stop there: DR's Edison Azcona was given a straight red card in stoppage time for kicking Spain’s Pau Cubarsi in the groin area.
Spain took advantage of being a man up after the break off Alex Baena’s deflected shot to double his team’s lead in the 55th minute. The majority of the second half was played in favor of Spain, who controlled the ball and found key passes to break the Dominican Republic’s defense. Miguel Gutierrez scored the Europeans' third goal in the 70th minute.
Spain sealed its spot in the Round of 16 thanks to Uzbekistan's defeat of Egypt and now looks for first place in Group C. The Dominican Republic, which earned a point in its first match of the tournament after a 0-0 draw with Egypt, is not eliminated from the tournament but will need a win over Uzbekistan in its last group-stage match. -- Leo Santos
Uzbekistan vs Egypt
Ahmed Koka put the Egyptians in front off a silly sequence in front of goal, and that was all Egypt needed to pick up a win and position itself well to reach the quarterfinal round of men's soccer at the 2024 Paris Olympics, eliminating Uzbekistan with a 1-0 victory at the Stade de la Beaujoire on Saturday.
Osama Faisal knocked down a cross for Karim El Debes, whose half-speed low shot dinked off the bottom of the far post. Uzbekistan's Mukhammadkodir Khamraliev acted quickly to clear the ball but saw his effort rocket off Koka's knee and back into the goal for 1-0 to Egypt in the 11th minute.
That wasn't it for the danger despite the low score line, as Uzbekistan in particular found moments of threat throughout the game and deep into stoppage time.
The win gives Egypt an excellent chance of qualifying for the knockout rounds, two points behind Spain heading into their final match against 0-1-1 Dominican Republic. A draw will be enough for the knockout rounds, while Uzbekistan is out of its first Olympic soccer event. -- Nicholas Mendola
Ukraine vs Morocco
Ukraine earned a surprising 2-1 win against Morocco after Igor Krasnopir scored deep in stoppage to ensure his side all three points despite a late red card.
Morocco owned much of the possession for the majority of the match and looked like the more threatening team but it was Ukraine who reached the scoresheet first thanks to a goal by Dmytro Kryskiv in the 22nd minute. Morocco created opportunities to level the score but failed to do so for the rest of the first half.
The Moroccans were able to get on the scoresheet after Ukraine’s Volodymyr Salyuk received a red card for fouling Soufiane Rahimi in the 18-yard box, leading to a penalty for the African nation. Rahimi cooly placed the ball in the bottom left to bring his team level in the 64th minute.
Ukraine was able to defend against any threats from its opponents a man down in the last 20 minutes, and its big moment came when Krasnopir tapped the ball into the net from close range in the eight minute of added time.
The result shakes up Group B as every team now has three points after two matches, making both final matches -- Argentina vs Ukraine and Morocco vs Iraq -- must-watch on Tuesday. -- Leo Santos
Israel vs Paraguay
Paraguay overcame a pair of controversial blown leads to beat Israel 4-2 and revive its knockout-round hopes with a stoppage-time triumph at the Parc des Princes on Saturday.
The South Americans were blown out by Japan in the opener, and needed a response. It took first- and second-half leads through Marcelo Fernandez and Julio Enciso only to be answered by Omri Gandelman and Oscar Glouth, respectively, before ex-West Ham defender Fabian Balbuena won it for the Paraguay with one of two stoppage-time goals (Fernandez scored his second in 90+6').
Paraguay out-attempted Israel 35-7 and came close to exiting the match bewildered by the result, as both of Israel's goals were controversial; The first equalizer was kicked from between the hands of the keeper, while the second aided by a VAR-awarded penalty.
But Balbuena lashed in through traffic in the second minute of stoppage before Fernandez completed his brace.
Group D was far from settled before Japan's match with Mali, with Paraguay holding three points and Israel one.
Paraguay opened the scoring when Marcelo Fernandez collected a long ball on the left. He cut inside and swerved a shot high across goal, where flying Israel keeper Omer Nir'on could only get a piece of the ball on its way into the upper 90.
Israel's answer came after halftime, as Gandelman reacted quickly to snap in an equalizer. Paraguay's Roberto Fernandez got his hands on the cross just as Stav Lemkin jabbed the ball out from between them. Gandelman powered his head through the second (or third) chance to make it 1-1.
The lead went back to the CONMEBOL side of the ledger due to the left foot of Brighton's Enciso. He snapped in a headed pass from Diego Gomez to put Paraguay ahead for the second time.
Israel found a second chance to go level when the Video Assistant Referee intervened following an interaction between Paraguay's Marcelo Perez and Israel's Sean Goldberg. That sent Israel's Glouth to the spot, where he deposited his rebound following a save by Roberto Fernandez and set the stage for Paraguay's bright finish. -- Nicholas Mendola
New Zealand vs United States
The U.S. men’s soccer team got a crucial result against New Zealand to increase its chances of making it out of the group stage, beating New Zealand 4-1.
Days after losing its opener to France, the Yanks got goals from four different players in building a four-goal lead before Jesse Randall's late answer for the Kiwis.
The result puts the U.S. in a comfortable position to advance by most likely only needing one point to move on, and it erases a minus-3 goal differential. New Zealand, on the other hand, will have to get a positive result against France to continue its tournament. -- Leo Santos
France vs Guinea
Another 90 minutes, another clean sheet win for the hosts.
Such is life for the French men's soccer team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, who only found the back of the net once against Guinea but left Nice's Allianz Riviera with a knockout-round berth.
Guinea made life difficult for the French and had a pair of goals taken off the board, but Thierry Henry's men seized all three points off Michael Olise's wicked cross into the box and Killian Sildillia's glancing header in the 76th minute.
The win joins its Day 1 defeat of the U.S. in giving France a first-place finish in Group A. It'll finish playing against New Zealand, while Guinea will become French fans hoping to take down the Americans on Tuesday and reach the knockout rounds themselves. -- Nicholas Mendola
Japan vs Mali
It was a tight contest with plenty of missed chances between the two, but ultimately Japan did just enough to earn a hard-fought 2-1 win over Mali.
The scoreline didn’t reflect the amount of clear-cut chances each team had throughout the match as Japan registered 12 shots (three on goal) and Mali let loose with 16 (four on goal).
The deciding moments occurred in the 82nd minute as Rihito Yamamoto tapped in a rebound from close range before Mali wasted a chance to equlize from the spot. Sota Kawasaki handled the ball inside the box – confirmed after a VAR check – four minutes into stoppage and Mali was awarded a penalty. However, Cheickna Doumbia missed the penalty just wide of the goalie’s right post, which summed up the evening for Mali.
The result secured Japan’s spot in the next round and first place in Group D, while Mali will need a win against Israel to advance. -- Leo Santos