When it comes to the Olympic football tournament, there were no surprises in the two matches that started at 8 PM. France maintained a perfect record at their home Olympic Games by defeating New Zealand 3-0, comfortably securing their passage to the quarter-final in the process; in the meantime, Guinea went through the same thrashing as the Kiwis – the African side lost the USA by scoring none and coinciding three.Thierry Henry made nine changes to the team that beat Mali but his side still looked imperious during the early stages, with the incoming Rayan Cherki taking control. Les Bleus’ number 18 glided up the pitch and unleashed the match’s first shot eight minutes in, before Arnaud Kalimuendo’s follow-up was blocked. Cherki caused chaos again to help France open the scoring 10 minutes later, as Joe Bell’s tackle on him saw the ball bounce fortuitously off Finn Surman to Jean-Philippe Mateta who left nothing to chance with a delightful finish.Goal: Mateta | New Zealand 0-1 Francepic.twitter.com/rIBAnM331U— PushGoals (@PushGoals) July 30, 2024 Désiré Doué embodied the confidence gained from that goal by cutting inside and hitting a strike from range, even if the effort was comfortably denied by Alex Paulsen. New Zealand still showed that they were far from out of the contest with Ben Waine, Sarpreet Singh and Michael Boxall seeing shots blocked before the latter headed over from a corner. Despite the tempo slowing down following a cooling break, Cherki still had moments where he dazzled while Andy Diouf smashed an ambitious effort agonisingly over the crossbar.Morocco and Argentina qualify through with confidence – the Gauchos take top spot on goal differenceLes Bleus looked flat after the break and were offered a warning by Matthew Garbett’s clean strike fizzing wide. There were eventually signs that things could come together again for the hosts as Cherki’s strike forced a determined block from Tyler Bindon, but there wasn’t enough to satisfy the manager who turned to Michael Olise and Maghnes Akliouche shortly after the hour mark. That decision brought extra urgency and a second arrived swiftly, as Surman’s tackle on Diouf sent the ball trickling towards Doué, who coolly passed the ball home.🚨🏅 GOAL | France 2-0 New Zealand | Desiré DouéDESIRE DOUE DOUBLES THE LEAD!pic.twitter.com/wN7d6HP7NG— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) July 30, 2024 Doué saw a shot blocked moments later but Kalimuendo followed up to add some extra gloss to the scoreline, as France extended their unbeaten run to eight matches and set up a tantalising contest against Argentina to maintain hopes of their second-ever Olympics triumph, with their only previous gold coming at Los Angeles 1984. In contrast, New Zealand were knocked out following two consecutive defeats and were denied a late consolation as Obed Nkambadio superbly saved Lachlan Bayliss’ audacious attempt.🚨 France third goal, they’re owning New Zealand. 🔥#Paris2024 #Franzl pic.twitter.com/2oJeSMTbeR— adu (@cricfootadnan) July 30, 2024 Elsewhere, the United States of America progressed to the quarter-finals of the 2024 Olympics as runners-up of Group A following a 3-0 win against Guinea, with the Americans picking up just a second-ever clean sheet in their 12 Olympic matches.Marko Mitrović’s USA came into the game knowing that their fate was in their own hands, and the Americans got off to the perfect start, opening the scoring inside 15 minutes. Colorado Rapids midfielder Đorđe Mihailović stepped up to the task at hand, curling a beautiful freekick over the wall and into the top corner to give the Stars and Stripes a deserved lead.Đorđe Mihailović brilliant freekick goal!USA 1-0 Guineapic.twitter.com/pvu6fjTQNs— PushGoals (@PushGoals) July 30, 2024 The goal provided a wake-up call for Guinea, and they began to grow into the game, posing a threat to the American defence. However, any progress towards an equaliser was undone on the half-hour mark, as the US cut through the Guinea defence like butter. Paxten Aaronson was the architect, sliding Kevin Paredes through on goal, and the forward made no mistake when slotting past Soumaila Sylia.Kevin Paredes goal makes it 2-0 USA #Paris2024 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/dJ8tCyxadh https://t.co/cvHE2pszzh— Sideline Recaps (@SidelineRecaps) July 30, 2024 Cruising two goals to the good and well on their way to the quarter-finals, USA began the second period in full control of the contest. Guinea once again struggled to break down the opposition defence and were forced into shots from distance. One of those produced their first effort on target, but it did little to trouble Patrick Schulte, who comfortably gathered.Paredes confirmed victory with a third goal in the 75th minute, cutting in from the right and powering home to send the African nation home following a third straight defeat in their first Olympic group games since 1968. USA coasted to victory and Mitrović had the opportunity to rest his players, making wholesale changes throughout the second half, and now he turns his attention to Group B winners Morocco in Friday’s quarter-finals.🚨🏅 GOAL | USA 3-0 Guinea | Kevin ParedesKEVIN PAREDES MAKES IT THREE!pic.twitter.com/7shW3WCZmx— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) July 30, 2024 PARIS OLYMPICS – GROUP STAGERound 3TuesdayDom.Republic – Uzbekistan 1-1 (0-0)/Nunez 51 pen – Odilov 58/Spain – Egypt 1-2 (0-1)/Omorodion 90 – Adel 40, 62/Morocco – Iraq 3-0 (3-0)/Richardson 19, Rahimi 28, Ezalzzouli 36/Ukraine – Argentina 0-2 (0-0)/Almada 47, Echeverri 90+1/USA – Guinea 3-0 (2-0)/Mihailovic 14, Paredes 31, 75/N.Zealand – France 0-3 (0-1)/Mateta 19, Doue 71, Kalimuendo 74/22:00: (3.25) Israel M23 (3.45) Japan M23 (2.20)22:00: (2.30) Paraguay M23 (3.45) Mali M23 (3.05)***odds are subject to change***
