The 2024 Olympic Soccer Tournament got underway on Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremonies, and there has already been a lot of drama on and off the pitch on the men’s and women’s side. Let’s take a look.
1) No Alex Morgan on Team USA.
One of the biggest surprises for Team USA is the fact that 35-year-old Alex Morgan of San Dimas, California did not make the Olympic team. Morgan has 123 international goals for the United States (eighth all-time in international women’s soccer), has won two Women’s World Cups (2015 and 2019), and the gold medal for the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
2) Canadian defender Sydney Collins breaks her leg.
In an exhibition game leading up to the Olympic Games against Nigeria on July 18, Canadian defender Sydney Collins broke her leg. The fact that exhibition games or friendlies were even played at all should be questioned as the players would have been better off resting and staying healthy.
3) Team Canada fires employees after fling two drones.
There is massive controversy in the women’s soccer tournament before the event has even started. On Wednesday, Team Canada fired assistant coach Jasmine Mander and team analyst Joseph Lombardi for allegedly illegally flying two drones over the New Zealand team practice. Canada coach Bev Priestman will not be coaching Thursday against New Zealand as a result.
4) Morocco fans charge the pitch in protest.
One of the opening games of the Olympic men’s soccer tournament was filled with violence. Late in the Group B game, Argentina appeared to tie the game at two, and Morocco fans ran on to the pitch to protest. Bottles were thrown by Morocco spectators. The game was postponed for a significant time, and when the players returned to the field, the Argentina goal was reviewed, and VAR determined there was no goal due to an offside. Morocco won 2-1, and it will be interesting to see if there are any further sanctions against the unruly Morocco spectators, or the Morocco team itself. Both Morocco goals were scored by forward Soufiane Rahimi.
5) Who else won on Day One?
In Group A, France beat the United States 3-0 on goals by 33-year-old forward Alexandre Lacazette of Lyon, Bayern Munich attacking midfielder Michael Olise, and Sevilla centre back Loic Bade. New Zealand meanwhile beat Guinea on goals by midfielder Matthew Garbett and forward Ben Waine.
In the other Group B game, Iraq beat Ukraine 2-1 on goals by striker Ayman Hussein and Ali Jasim. In Group C, Spain beat Uzbekistan 2-1 on goals by right back Marc Pubill and Sergio Gomez. Meanwhile, Egypt and the Dominican Republic tied at zero. In Group D, Japan clobbered Paraguay 5-0, and Mali and Israel tied at one. In Japan’s win, Sparta Rotterdam midfielder Shunsuke Mito of Sparta Rotterdam, and forward Shota Fujio each scored twice, while defensive midfielder Rihito Yamamoto scored once.
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