Egypt were on the verge of elimination after Diego Gomez brought Paraguay the lead in the 71st minute. The Pharaohs’ saviour was Ibrahim Adel who levelled two minutes before the end. The penalties were meant to decide the winner, where the Egyptian keeper Hamza Alaa became a hero, saving Marcelo Perez’s spot kick in the second series. Egypt awaits Argentina or France in the semi-final.🚨🏅 GOAL | Egypt 1-1 Paraguay | Ibrahim AdelIRAHIM ADEL HAS EQUALIZED FOR EGYPT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!pic.twitter.com/K7GQXuFKW3— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) August 2, 2024 After Morocco crushed the USA, reaching the Olympic Games semi-final, Egypt was the other African hope. In prospect, the Pharaohs’ rival was even less challenging – Paraguay. The South American team, however, beat Mali and Israel for second place in Group D, which was exceptionally hard to achieve considering that they lost the first-round match to Japan 5-0. Conversely, Egypt stunned Spain in the last group stage round and took over the top spot from La Furia.Nevertheless, this one was nowhere near interesting compared to the previous two quarter-finals, especially in the first half. Egypt controlled the game regarding possession, but Paraguay were much more concrete, with as many as nine attempts, while the Egyptians had only three. Still, those shots were mainly from outside the box and weren’t that dangerous.DIEGO GOMEZ GOAL, JULIO ENCISO ASSIST!Brighton on the Olympic stage 💙 pic.twitter.com/4wf9W2c80c— Ryan (@ryanadsett) August 2, 2024 In the first 45 minutes, both teams had one good chance each, with the keepers Hamza Alaa (Egypt) and Roberto Fernandez (Paraguay) stepping up to save their teams. In the 31st minute, Mahmoud Saber tried to aim at the middle of the goal, but La Albirroja goalie deflected his effort. On the other hand, in the second minute of added time, Marcelo Perez latched on to a pass in the penalty area and unleashed a decent strike to the left corner, but Alaa magnificently denied it. Hence, the teams were level at the break – 0-0.Paraguay opened the second period better, with a 53rd-minute chance by Perez again. Once more Huracan forward had a magnificent opportunity to put his team into a leading position, but just like ten minutes earlier, Alaa pulled off a fantastic save, giving only a corner to the South Americans. Two minutes later, Egypt captain Mohamed Elneny attempted from a distance, sending the ball just over the bar. Fernandez again emerged victorious from a duel with the Egyptians in the 65th minute, superbly saving Osama Faisal’s strike from the box.Paris Olympics: Can anyone stop Spain in football?! Japan couldn’t, either!The 70th minute finally brought the opening goal – for Paraguay! Brighton’s Julio Enciso splendidly set up Diego Gomez inside the box, who banged the ball into the bottom corner to make it 1-0. Fourteen minutes before the end, Fernandez stood out again, saving his team after Saber’s long-range shot. Egypt boss Rogerio Micale made a triple substitution, subbing in three forwards and making an all-or-nothing decision since his team had nothing to lose. And it paid off! In the 88th minute Zizo sent the ball deep into the box where the unmarked Ibrahim Adel levelled the score with a close-range header! Eight minutes of stoppage time brought nothing new, and the teams were up for the extra time!Three minutes into extra time, VAR checked a potential penalty for Egypt, but the Swedish ref Glenn Nyberg eventually signalled no spot kick for the Pharaohs. Apart from two bookings—one for each team—there were no notable moments in the first half of extra time. Moreover, both rivals seemed tired and eagerly awaiting the penalty shoot-out.Paris Olympics: Copy World Cup – paste Olympics! Merciless Morocco reach the semis!The equalizer scorer, Adel, could’ve become the ultimate hero in the 108th minute, but Paraguay’s keeper made his eighth save in the game. That was the last significant chance and the penalties were to decide the third semifinalist of the Olympics Games! In the “penalty roulette,” only one miss turned out to be decisive! Alaa stopped Perez’s strike in the second series and booked the ticket for the semis! The Pharaohs were calmer, netting all their shots and deservedly entered the medal contest.OLYMPIC GAMES – MEN’S FOOTBALLQuarter-finalsFridayMorocco – USA 4-0 (1-0)/Rahimi 29 pen, Akhomach 63, Hakimi 70, Maouhoub 90+1 pen/Japan – Spain 0-3 (0-1)/F. Lopez 11, 73, Ruiz 86/Egypt – Paraguay 5-4 on pen (1-1)/Adel 88 – Gomez 71/France – Argentina 1-0 HT/Mateta 5/***odds are subject to change***
