Lionel Messi expressed his surprise as Argentina’s Olympic team suffered a defeat in chaotic circumstances in its opening match against Morocco at the Olympic Games.
In a stunning match played in Saint-Etienne on Wednesday, Argentina found itself on the wrong side of the scoreboard with a 2-1 defeat. A simple goal along with a Soufiane Rahimi penalty gave Morocco a commanding 2-0 lead before Giuliano Simeone, coming off the bench, broke through the defense to bring the score to 2-1.
Time ran out towards an electrifying finale that was supercharged by 15 minutes of added time. Cristian Medina seemingly scored an undisputed goal with a rebound header in the 106th minute, only for events to take an unexpected turn.
One of the strangest endings you will EVER see.
Over an hour after Cristian Medina’s late equalizer for Argentina against Morocco, the referee announced Medina’s goal was disallowed for offside. After playing out the final minutes of the match, Morocco won 2-1. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/PaIhszKyBi
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 24, 2024
After firecrackers wreaked havoc on the pitch, leading to the evacuation of the Argentine bench and resulting in hordes of Moroccan fans invading the pitch, it appeared that the match had ended in a 2-2 draw.
However, revealing shocking details more than an hour later, reports showed that VAR had flagged Medina’s goal as offside; Contrary to popular belief, the match was not over yet. The teams were called back to play the remaining three minutes in a deserted stadium, where Morocco maintained its lead to finally claim victory.
An exasperated Messi, who is not participating with Argentina’s Olympic team but recently helped Argentina defend its Copa América title, reacted to the strange events in an Instagram post. “Unusual,” he wrote in Spanish. “I can not believe what happened. This kind of thing shouldn’t happen in a tournament of this level. “I am very surprised and disappointed.”
Javier Mascherano, now in charge of Argentina’s Olympic team, could not contain his frustration during a chaotic match that saw frequent interruptions by pitch invaders and Moroccan tactics to disrupt the flow of the game. After the game, he didn’t hold back, declaring to the press: “It’s the biggest circus I’ve ever seen in my life!”
The Argentine players, placed in Group B along with Morocco, Iraq and Ukraine, look to bounce back from this setback when they face Iraq on Saturday.
Argentina is showing its future stars at the Olympic Games, without the participation of established players like Messi and Ángel Di María. Messi, who suffered an injury in the Copa América final, could actually have seen his last international tournament at the age of 37. Nicolás Otamendi stands out as one of the few veteran presences on a team focused on emerging talent.
