PARIS — After a strong finish to the group stage that raised hopes of a surprise performance by the U.S. men's Olympic soccer team, the Americans saw their hopes dashed — in resounding fashion — in a 4-0 loss to Morocco at the Parc des Princes on Friday.
Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi, playing at his club's home stadium, provided a fitting exclamation point for Morocco with a sharp finish after a blistering run in the 70th minute, but the United States felt all but finished even before then.
Ilias Akhomach's goal had already created too big a hurdle for a team packed with young Americans, a group that had scored seven goals in its previous two games but had failed to break through against a top African team. Mehdi Maouhoub's penalty in stoppage time mattered only insofar as it gave the Moroccans one more chance to celebrate.
The American players will surely have some regrets, but in time, they will likely find the overall performance they displayed here encouraging. After playing at the same level as France for 60 of the 90 minutes in their tournament opener, the Americans, led by strong performances from Kevin Paredes and Djordje Mihailovic, defeated New Zealand and Guinea to advance a U.S. men’s team to the Olympic quarterfinals for the first time since 2000.
Against Morocco, coach Marko Mitrović kept the same attacking trio from the match against Guinea (Paredes, Paxten Aaronson and Griffin Yow), but the enthusiasm and excitement that the trio produced in Saint-Etienne was not repeated against an excellent Moroccan team, which finished first in its group.
Soufiane Rahimi, who scored a penalty on Friday that opened the scoring for Morocco, is the tournament's top scorer.
Going in, the United States knew this was by far the toughest test it would face since that opener against France in Marseille, and the crowd there might have been even more excited than that one.
Moroccan fans, almost all dressed in red, filled every section of the stadium, singing, chanting and whistling at nearly every American touch of the ball from kickoff.
They also booed every play of the match referee, Yael Falcón, a fact surely due to Falcón's nationality: Argentine.
After all, Morocco started this tournament by beating Argentina 2-1 in a match that descended into chaos near its conclusion and featured a pitch invasion and a controversial VAR decision at the end that left Argentina on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
Given this, many Moroccan fans were concerned about an Argentine referee officiating their quarterfinal match, but the more questionable decision made by Falcon actually left the Americans feeling aggrieved.
After successfully absorbing much of the Moroccan attack over the first 25 minutes or so, the United States was defending as the ball floated high toward the right side of its penalty area.
Three players, American fullback Nathan Harriel and Moroccans Oussama El Azzouzi and Rahimi, converged, all with their feet up and legs extended.
El Azzouzi looked to have struck Rahimi more clearly, but referee Falcón blew for a penalty for what appeared to be a slight touch by Harriel on Rahimi's calf. The VAR reviewed the decision and confirmed it.
Rahimi then took the penalty kick, which crashed into the corner of the net and goalkeeper Patrick Schulte almost saved, but was unable to deflect it away.
At that point, the U.S. struggled to find its way back. Late in the first half, Morocco's players appeared to be passing the ball back and forth for fun as the U.S. chased, but the Americans found some light after the break.
Early in the second half, the U.S. had its best play of the game when Walker Zimmerman, one of three overage players allowed on each team, headed the ball back in front of the goal. Miles Robinson, another senior, had a chance at point-blank range but squandered it when Zimmerman lowered his head.
From the sideline, Mitrović stood watching. Moments later, Abde Ezzalzouli broke through on the left flank and sent a perfect back pass to Akhomach. The U.S. was reeling. Soon, the Americans were out.
