Ukraine Olympic take on Morocco Olympic in the round 2 match of the group stage of Olympic tournament. The match will be played on Saturday, July 27th at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard (Saint-Étienne).
Ukraine makes its debut at this level. The "Yellow-Blues" earned their debut spot thanks to last year's European Championship. Held in Georgia and Romania, the tournament brought together the best U-21 national teams. Ruslan Rotan's squad won two group matches and even led against Spain, but eventually drew 2-2. Then, they pulled off an even bigger shock by defeating France 3-1. However, in the semifinals, Spain dominated them with a 5-1 victory. Nevertheless, reaching the semifinals secured Ukraine's debut spot in the Olympics. In preparation, they won the prestigious Toulon Tournament (albeit against younger opponents). In France, they played warm-up matches against Egypt and Paraguay, both ending in high-scoring draws. The coaching staff experimented with the lineup, as many key players from 2023 were not released by their clubs. In their Olympic opener against Iraq, Ukraine seemed poised to confirm their status as favorites on the field. However, after taking the lead, they conceded a questionable penalty and then another goal, ultimately losing 1-2. It felt like déjà vu from the start of the recent Euro tournament under Rebrov, with similarly uncertain prospects ahead.
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Morocco also participated in a continental tournament last year. In Africa, it was the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, held in Morocco. Unsurprisingly, the hosts won the tournament. In the group stage, the favorites won all three matches, but in the semifinals against Mali, they only advanced through a penalty shootout. They secured the trophy with a goal in extra time, finishing 2-1 against neighboring Egypt. After some mixed results in friendly matches, the best youth team from the "Black Continent" faced one of the tournament favorites, Argentina, last Wednesday. The North Africans surprisingly took the lead. The Argentine side seemed to equalize in the final moments, but a fan invasion delayed the match by nearly two hours, and the goal was disallowed upon review. Morocco held on to their shocking 2-1 victory in the remaining minutes.
This exotic pairing, at least in the context of youth/Olympic teams, has not faced each other before. Although there was a friendly match at the senior national team level. The "Yellow-Blues" are now heavily underestimated. However, it's too early to write off those who disappointed in the opening round of this group. We'll bet on "total over 2.5 goals."
Prediction for the match: Over 2.5 scored goals.
