PARIS: There is no love lost on the football pitch between France and Argentina these days and their quarter-final meeting in Bordeaux on Friday will spice up the men’s Olympic tournament.
The battle of the last eight rivals is in many ways exactly what was needed for a competition mainly reserved for under-23 players, lacking star names and struggling to attract the attention of the general football public.
There will be plenty of reasons to watch as the two leading contenders go all the way to claim gold in Paris on August 9.
It will be the first meeting between the nations since Argentina’s players were filmed chanting racist chants about their French counterparts as they celebrated their Copa America victory in mid-July.
FIFA announced it would investigate the chants, which targeted French star forward Kylian Mbappe, among others, and included racist and homophobic slurs.
The chants even led to a diplomatic incident, with Argentina apologizing after the South American country’s vice president, Victoria Villarruel, wrote on X that France was a “colonial country”. “Enough of the feigned indignation, you hypocrites,” she added.
Argentina’s players have already been booed by opposition fans during the Olympic tournament and can expect another warm welcome from the French crowd.
“With everything that’s happened recently, everyone in France has been hit, so we’ll see what happens in the quarter-finals,” warned Crystal Palace’s France forward Jean-Philippe Mateta after the hosts ended the group stage with three wins from three.
Friday’s showdown will also be the first between the teams since the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, which Argentina won on penalties after an impressive 3-3 draw.
However, the men’s Olympic football tournament is an under-23 competition, albeit with the exception of up to three older players per squad.
Only two members of Argentina’s Olympic team, Nicolas Otamendi and Julian Alvarez, played in the 2022 game, and no one from France.
That may take the edge off a bit, but from a purely footballing point of view it will still be a fascinating contest.
After triumphs in 2004 and 2008, Argentina are chasing their third Olympic gold, the second with a young Lionel Messi in their ranks.
France go for soccer gold on home soil 40 years after winning the title at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
“If we want to win a medal, we have to be ready to play any opponent, wherever it is,” Argentina’s Thiago Almada, an unused substitute at the 2022 World Cup finals, told TyC Sports television.
There are few home-grown names in both teams, although Manchester City’s Alvarez will lead Argentina’s attack, while France are led by Alexandre Lacazette and may also call upon new Bayern Munich signing Michael Olise.
But both sides have legendary coaches – France with 1998 World Cup winner Thierry Henry, Argentina with fellow former Barcelona star Javier Mascherano, who won Olympic gold as a player in Athens and Beijing.
The winner will advance to the semi-finals in Lyon next Monday against either Egypt or 2004 silver medalists Paraguay, who meet in the round of 16 in Marseille.
All of the quarter-finals take place on Friday, with Morocco taking on the United States in Paris and then Spain taking on Japan in Lyon.
Spain are looking for more glory weeks after winning Euro 2024 as they aim for a second Olympic gold in men’s football since 1992. Japan came into this Olympics with a young squad but were the only team apart from France to win all three groups of the Games.
