Tonight, the battle for the third place in the men's soccer tournament is about to start, and the two strongest players, Egypt and Morocco, are going to have a fierce competition. Both African lions have encountered adversity and suffered heavy losses. Having missed out on the gold medal, they may have to take off the psychological burden and fight hard to win by 2.5 goals in this match of honor.
Egypt has not fared well at the Olympics, winning two and losing three of their five matches, without ever tasting defeat. Especially in the quarterfinals, they were ahead of hosts France at one point, but were overtaken late in the game. Facing the red and yellow carded Omafayez, they fought back with one man less until they went down 1-3. Nonetheless, their 120-minute fight was admirable, and I believe they will unleash themselves even more when they play the third-place match tonight.
Meanwhile, Morocco has recorded three wins and two losses at the Games, including a stunning dramatic goal to beat Argentina in the first round of the group stage, and a historic top-four finish at the 2022 World Cup under Ashraf. The senior player, Sophie Anrahimi, has scored six goals this year, including a top-four goal against Spain. Despite a 1-2 defeat, Rahimi has continued to perform well and will be in the spotlight again in tonight's third-place game.
Morocco's offense is sharp, scoring 11 goals in 5 games at this Olympics, averaging over 3 goals per game. Without the pressure of the third-place game, their offense may be even more fierce. Looking back at the previous four men's Olympic soccer third-place games, there were three times more than three goals scored, and the tournament was entertaining. Whichever team is vying for the bronze medal, this game is highly anticipated.
