The U.S. run through the men’s soccer tournament came to a definitive end Friday, with Morocco dominating to a 4-0 quarterfinal-round win at a packed Parc des Princes stadium.
Although the American women have made the final in five of the previous seven Olympics, on the men’s side, where the tournament is an age-group competition, the U.S. last played in the Summer Games in 2008 and made the quarterfinals just once in the last 68 years.
Judged against that history, the team’s performance in France, where it won two of four games, finished second in its group and advanced to the knockout stage for the first time since 2000, was a success.
But it proved no match for Morocco, which went ahead to stay in the 29th minute on a penalty kick from Soufiane Rahimi. The goal was Rahimi’s tournament-leading fifth goal and the third to come from the spot.
Rahimi also drew the foul that sent up the penalty when a through ball into the penalty area found American defender Nathan Harriel in between two Moroccans. When all three players raised their boots to contest the 50-50 ball, Harriel’s foot struck Rahimi and Argentine referee Yael Falcon immediately signaled a penalty, a call video-assistant referee Rob Dieperink did not dispute.
Morocco’s swarming, pressing defense smothered the U.S. throughout the hot, humid afternoon, controlling the ball for nearly two-thirds of the first 45 minutes and forcing the Americans to play the ball up wings. U.S. keeper Patrick Schulte had already given up a goal and saved three others before his teammates took their first shot on goal four minutes into the second half. But it was a weak header from Tanner Tessmann off a corner that Moroccan keeper Munir El Kajoui had no trouble with. The U.S. wouldn’t test El Kajoui again.
Another well-played sequence 10 minutes later saw Walker Zimmerman head a cross back into the middle of the box for Miles Robinson, but Robinson sent his left-footed shot well wide of the right post.
Four minutes later, Morocco stuck the dagger in, with Ilias Akhomach scoring at the end of a counterattack. But it was Abde Ezzalzouli, who plays for Real Batis in Spain, who made the goal, grabbing the ball at midfield and dribbling quickly up the left touchline, barely keeping the ball in play before cutting to his right near the end and feeding a hard, low cross to Akhomach. The forward, who plays in Spain for Villarrel, timed his run perfectly, then stuck out his right boot to deflect in a shot from the edge of the six-yard box.
Morocco wasn’t done. In the 70th minute, with the U.S. pushing forward in an attempt to come back, Morocco scored again on another counter. This time captain Achraf Hakimi, who plays his club games in Parc des Princes with Paris Saint-Germain, did the honors, scoring on a shot from the top of the box that Schulte should have stopped.
Second-half substitute Mehdi Maouhoub then closed the scoring on a penalty kick in stoppage time.