Morocco gets a win against Argentina in a dramatic start to the Olympic soccer tournament

MARSEILLE, France (AP) - Morocco secured a wild 2-1 win over Argentina at the start of the Olympic men’s soccer tournament on Wednesday - but not before furious fans invaded the pitch to protest what appeared to be an equalizer by Cristian Medina in the 16th-minute of stoppage time.

Objects were thrown onto the field and security had to restrain fans, causing the game in Saint-Etienne to be suspended for nearly two hours and the crowd being told to leave the stadium.

The goal was eventually ruled offside just before play resumed, sparking celebrations from Morocco players as the final minutes concluded.

It was a chaotic and dramatic start to the tournament after Argentina, which won gold medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and is considered among the favorites in France, mounted a comeback after going 2-0 down on goals from Soufiane Rahimi on either side of halftime.

Giuliano Simeone struck in the 68th minute and Argentina peppered Morocco goalkeeper Munir El Kajoui with shots before Medina's header from close range appeared to tie it.

That caused outrage from Morocco fans, who rushed the field, while others threw trash, and the game was officially put on hold.

Rahimi had put Morocco ahead in first-half stoppage time, then converted on a penalty kick in the 49th, which proved to be the decisive goal against an Argentina team that included four members of the squad that won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Ben Waine scored the go-ahead goal and New Zealand won its Group A opener 2-1 over Guinea in Nice.

New Zealand was awarded a penalty in the 24th minute, but Guinea goalkeeper Soumaila Sylla dove to punch away captain Matthew Garbett's attempt. New Zealand quickly recovered and Garbett scored a minute later for a 1-0 lead.

Aliou Balde appeared to equalize for Guinea in the 62nd minute, but it was ruled offside after video review. The team finally broke through with Amadou Diawara's game-tying goal in the 72nd.

New Zealand answered a minute later with Waine's goal from out in front.

It is the fourth time that New Zealand is making an Olympic appearance. The OlyWhites, as they are known, advanced to the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Games before falling to host Japan on penalties.

Guinea was making its Olympic debut.

The match in Nice was sparsely attended, with temperatures in the coastal city reaching the upper 80s Fahrenheit (30 Celsius). Fans also were late in arriving because of an accident that delayed tram service to the match.

Sergio Gomez scored the winning goal in Spain’s 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan to open Group C.

The match at Parc des Princes in Paris was the first official competition of the Olympics and drew some 35,000 fans.

Marc Pubill scored in the 29th minute for Spain, which won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics. The team has won silver twice since then, most recently at the Tokyo Games.

Eldor Shomurodov converted on a penalty kick in first-half stoppage time to tie it for resilient Uzbekistan, which was making its first Olympic appearance.

Gomez had a penalty saved by Abduvohid Nematov in the 59th minute, but some three minutes later he scored from about 12 yards out front of Uzbekistan's goal.

Egypt and the Dominican Republic played to a scoreless draw in Group C in Nantes.

Peter Gonzalez's apparent goal for the Dominican Republic early in the match was called back because of a foul in the run-up.

Egypt has been to the Olympics 13 times, the most by an African nation, but has never finished higher than fourth. The team made the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Games.

It was hoped that Mohamed Salah would join Egypt as a senior player for the Olympics, but he declined to focus on Liverpool's preseason. The team is captained by Mohamed Elneny, the former Arsenal midfielder.

The Dominican Republic was making its Olympic debut.

___

AP Soccer Writer Anne M. Peterson in Nice, France, contributed to this report.

___

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games