Morocco and Egypt Olympic Football teams show another glimpse of what Africa Football is capable of at that global stage as both teams booked a passage to the Semi Final at the Paris Olympics.
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Having defeated two former Olympic gold medal winners in Spain and Argentina, they earned the right to ask for the gold and open a new chapter in the series of African golden moments in Men’s Olympic Football.
Morocco knocked out the USA 4-0 in a dominant fashion to qualify for the semi-finals while Egypt edged Paraguay 5-4 on Penalties after playing 1-1 in pulsating 120 minutes of football
The emergence of Morocco and Egypt in the semi final returns Africa football to the men’s Olympics podium after 8 years when Nigeria defeated Hungary 3-2 in the Bronze medal placement match in Brazil as both teams won’t be meeting each in the semis.
Morocco will take on Spain in the first Semi Final on Monday by 5 pm while Egypt will take on host France for a place in the Final of which a win for the two teams will give Africa an unprecedented 1st and 2nd podium finish.
Morocco’s performance so far at the Olympics has earned them the favourite tag.
They cast away doubts when Argentina fell 2-1 to the Moroccans in their first game. Their dominant display against the USA in the Semi Final announced their readiness for the Gold as they reached their highest level ever at the Olympics.
Egypt has been steady with their performance so far showing character and strong resilience and capacity so far with their performance.
They got everyone’s attention when they defeated Spain 2-1 in the crunchy last group game , which saw them punch the Quarter finals ticket against all odds.
The high level resilience in their game is a quality that could see them surpass their fourth places finished at the Olympics in 1928 and 1964 when they seek their first ever final berth in the history of the Olympics, probably go for the long elusive gold medal.
Both teams are asking for more of Africa’s golden moments, it will be a delight if both countries can serve the world, a final made in Africa while seeking their individual path in history as far men’s Olympic football is concerned.
Peak Africa Football Moments In the history of the Olympics 1928 Olympics: Egypt became the first African nation to finish in fourth position and they repeated the same feat at the 1964 Olympics in the Netherlands.
This marked the beginning of Africa’s gradual rise in Olympic football and as a continent with special raw talent in football.
1988 Seoul Olympics: Zambia shocked the world with a super display of football skills. The team was captained by the legendary Kalusha Bwalya to make the quarter final for the first time and first Africa quarter final placement in 24 years.
Barcelona 1992: Ghana won the Bronze to announce the arrival of Africa’s football as a powerhouse in World Football.
Atlanta 1996: Nigeria took the notch higher by winning Africa’s first Gold medal in the event with two comeback wins against Brazil and Argentina in the semi final and respectively as Super Stars like Nwankwo Kanu, Jay-Jay Okocha, and Sunday Oliseh, captivated the world with their thrilling brand of football.
Sydney 2000: Cameroon attained the same height as Nigeria as Africa held on to the dominance of Olympics football for Eight years as Samuel Etoo led another generation of Africa football talent to the world.
2008 Beijing: Nigeria made it to the final but lost to Argentina to win Africa’s first silver medal at the Olympics completing a collection of all Olympic medals for Africa.
Rio 2016 Olympics: Nigeria won the bronze medal with a 3-2 victory over Honduras to complete a collection of all medals available in Men’s Olympic football as a country and by the most successful African team in the event.
Another golden moment awaits Africa as Egypt and Morocco battle their way into the August 9 final at the Parc de Princes, the home grand of French Ligue 1 Champions , PSG.
