In a historic achievement for Arab nations, Egypt and Morocco have each secured at least one Olympic medal in the football competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics, currently being held in France.
For the first time in its history, Morocco has advanced to the semifinals of the Olympic football tournament in Paris 2024, following a commanding 4-0 victory over the United States.
Meanwhile, Egypt reached the same stage for the first time in 60 years after triumphing over Paraguay in a penalty shootout.
Both the “Atlas Lions” and the “Pharaohs” now have the chance to bring home two medals for the Arab world—a gold and a silver—or at least one medal.
In the worst-case scenario, both teams could still earn a bronze if they lose in the semifinals and face each other in the third-place match.
Three Arab teams participated in the Paris 2024 Olympic football tournament: Egypt, Morocco, and Iraq, with the latter exiting in the group stages.
Upcoming matches include Egypt facing the host nation, France, on Monday at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon.
On the same day, Morocco will meet Spain at the Velodrome Stadium in Marseille.
Last month, Mohamed El-Sayed secured Egypt’s first medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning the bronze in the épée fencing event, following his victory over Hungary’s Tibor Andrashfi in the third-place match.
El-Sayed clinched an 8-7 victory in overtime after an extensive video review. He had previously lost in the semifinals to French fencer Yannick Borel, who will later compete against Japan’s Kano Kuki for the gold medal on Sunday.
This marks the second medal for the Arab countries at the Paris Olympics and also the second in fencing competitions, following Tunisian Fares Ferjani’s silver in the Arab sword event he won on Saturday.
