Group A: France 3-0 USAMichael Olise shines for hosts in win Stunning goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Michael Olise helped France to a 3-0 victory over the US in the Olympic men’s soccer tournament on Wednesday. Loïc Badé added the third with a late header to seal a win that had looked in doubt until former Arsenal striker Lacazette struck with a long range effort in the 61st minute in Marseille. The host nation had to ride its luck against a US team that saw a shot from Đorđe Mihailović hit the cross bar when the game was still goalless. Lacazette’s goal came almost immediately after. On a wild opening day for Olympic soccer, Morocco beat Argentina 2-1 in a game that was suspended for about two hours because fans invaded the pitch deep into stoppage time. And the Americans looked as if they could produce another upset when repeatedly opening France up. Continue reading...

Argentina coach Javier Mascherano describes the chaotic ending to his team's opening game of the Olympic football tournament as a "disgrace" and "a circus".

Watch the key moments from Argentina and Morocco's opening game where crowd trouble forces the match to be suspended for nearly two hours at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Watch the drama unfold as Argentina's stoppage-time equaliser against Morocco results in the match being temporarily suspended due to pitch invaders and flares being thrown onto the pitch. Almost 90 minutes after the postponement, VAR rules the equaliser offside and plays the match to a finish behind closed doors.

Day-by-day guide | Bookmark: medal table, resultsSign up for our Paris 2024 briefing | And email Michael Those rugby sevens fixtures for later are allowing my cynicism to melt away, replaced by real excitement. I’ll be able to catch the first 30 minutes of Guinea v New Zealand in mens’ football … or Egypt v Dominican Republic … or a bit of both?! Before Ireland v South Africa in the sevens at 16.30 BST. Bring it on. I’ll be locked into France’s curtain-raiser in the sevens before that too, naturellement. Continue reading...

Crowd trouble forces the first football match of the Olympics to be delayed by almost two hours, with Morocco finally beating Argentina 2-1 in an empty stadium.

Images of the pair from 2007 charity calendar resurfacePhotographer had no idea Lamine Yamal was in photo When Joan Monfort took photos of Lionel Messi with a baby for a charity calendar almost 17 years ago, he knew the long-haired young man would make it big in football. He could not have imagined the little boy would as well. The baby in the photos – which have gone viral – was none other than Lamine Yamal, the Spanish youngster, who at 16 is showing such promise that he is already being compared to the greats. The youngest to have played for Spain, he became the youngest player ever in the European Championship at the current tournament in Germany. Continue reading...

Canada claimed a 4-3 penalty shootout win over Venezuela on Friday to reach the Copa América semi-finals for the first time after an absorbing contest finished 1-1. With the teams all square after five attempts each, Wilker Ángel had his spot-kick saved by Maxime Crépeau in the shootout and Ismaël Koné buried the winning penalty to send Canada through. Continue reading...

Marsch was a frontrunner for the US job in 2022US knocked out after dismal group stage performance Canada coach Jesse Marsch has spoken of his disappointment at the poor performance of the USMNT at Copa América as his side prepare to take on Venezuela in the quarter-finals on Friday. The 50-year-old American coach led Canada to the last eight with a 1-0 win over Peru to finish second in Group A behind holders Argentina, while the US failed to progress from the group stage after a 1-0 defeat to Uruguay. Continue reading...

Tactics and team news for Spain v Germany, Portugal v France, England v Switzerland and Netherlands v Turkey By Ben McAleer for WhoScored An absolute blockbuster showdown to kick off the quarter-finals of Euro 2024. Spain were excellent in setting up a meeting with Germany as they put four past Georgia, though they perhaps should have scored more. La Roja managed 35 shots and 75% possession in the 4-1 win. Rodri returned from a one-game ban in that victory to score a fine equaliser after Spain went behind in the 18th minute. Continue reading...

All the latest team news and buildup from GermanyFootball Daily podcast | Golden Boot | And email Niall Speaking of Greece, they kick off Louise Taylor’s roundup of how to win a major tournament. Basically, you should be defensively ruthless like they were. Or control the ball like Spain did from 2008 to 2012. Or, be good at penalties like Italy and Argentina. Also, the ‘King Otto’ documentary on Greece’s victory in 2004 is on iPlayer, and well worth a watch in these football-starved hours. It was all so nearly a total disaster. Continue reading...

The past two World Cups have been won with some flair but prior to that, defence and possession were key As England prepare to face Switzerland in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 on Saturday, Gareth Southgate finds himself being inundated with advice from all quarters. But should he really throw caution to the wind and rip up his teamsheet while also playing a left footer at left-back? We look back at the previous 10 major international tournaments across the previous 20 years for a possible template for glory. Continue reading...

Argentina are cruising, Colombia, Venezuela and Uruguay are rising, while the US and Mexico are in crisis There’s a recipe for making the best tournaments. You need the right balance of favorites marching towards the final and underdogs carving their way out of the group stage. A nation furthering a massive unbeaten streak doesn’t hurt, either. The same goes for a host nation crashing out in dramatic fashion. The first 24 games of the Copa América have added just about every ingredient in that great tournament recipe. With the group stage complete and the knockout rounds awaiting us, which teams look the strongest? Continue reading...

The midfielder has been Ecuador’s best player. They need him at his best against Argentina in the quarter-finals By Ben McAleer for WhoScored The pressure was on Moisés Caicedo to make an immediate impact following his big-money move last summer. Chelsea were hellbent on signing the midfielder and finally landed their man in August for a British record fee of £115m. Given the constant uncertainty at the club, though, a seamless transition from Brighton to the Blues was always going to be easier said than done. To say Caicedo struggled in his opening months would be an understatement. As Christmas approached, Chelsea were in the bottom half of the table and it looked as if they had blown a fortune on Caicedo and his midfield partner Enzo Fernández, who was slow to adapt to the Premier League after his £106.8m move from Benfica. Liverpool had tried to sign Caicedo, offering Brighton £111m, and their fans were celebrating that he had turned them down. Jürgen Klopp also sounded relieved, saying: “Other central defensive midfielders didn’t want to join Liverpool. My god, we were lucky.” Continue reading...