Paris 2024: Chaos Erupts as France Defeats Argentina to Reach Men’s Football Semis

France’s tense clash with Argentina culminated in chaotic scenes after Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the decisive goal, securing a 1-0 victory and propelling the hosts into the Olympic semi-finals on Friday. France now joins Spain, Morocco, and Egypt in the last four.

The match ended with confrontations between rival players and staff on the pitch and continued into the tunnel in Bordeaux. Crystal Palace striker Mateta netted the game’s only goal five minutes into the quarter-final, heading in Michael Olise’s corner at the near post.

This victory, under the guidance of coach Thierry Henry, sets up a semi-final showdown with Egypt.

This was the first meeting between the two nations since Argentine players were recorded singing racist chants about their French counterparts after winning the Copa America in mid-July. FIFA announced an investigation into these chants, which targeted French star Kylian Mbappe among others, with racist and homophobic slurs.

The Argentine team faced a hostile reception, with the crowd jeering their national anthem. This was the first encounter between the teams since Argentina’s penalty shootout victory over France in the 2022 World Cup final.

Henry revealed that midfielder Enzo Millot, who had been substituted late in the game, received a red card after the final whistle.

“He wasn’t on the pitch. Maybe you get sent off for a second yellow card to stop someone running through on goal, but not when you are on the bench. I am really not happy about that,” Henry told broadcaster France 3.

Argentina’s Giuliano Simeone and Julian Alvarez missed opportunities, and with their exit, it ensures that the winner of the men’s football gold will not come from Latin America for the first time since Cameroon won in Sydney in 2000.

France could have secured a larger margin of victory, but a late goal by Olise was disallowed due to a foul in the build-up.