Argentina vs France: A Rematch of the 2022 World Cup Final at the Paris Olympics 2024 for The Glory

In many ways, the matchup between the rivals in the round of eight is exactly what the under-23 division needed—a tournament devoid of household names and struggling to draw in the wider football public. There will be many reasons to watch the August 9 match between two of the top candidates to win gold in the end in Paris.

This will be the first meeting of the nations since players from Argentina were caught on camera celebrating their Copa America victory in mid-July by singing racist slogans about their French rivals.

FIFA declared that it would look into the shouts, which included homophobic and racist epithets directed against French player Kylian Mbappe among others.

France was called a “colonialist country” by Argentina’s vice president Victoria Villarruel on X, causing a diplomatic situation for which Argentina had to issue an apology. “Enough with feigned outrage, hypocrites,” she said.

During the Olympic event, rival fans have already jeered Argentina’s players; they may anticipate another strong reception from the French public.

French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace cautioned, “With everything that has happened recently, everyone in France was affected, so we will see what happens in the quarter-finals,” as the hosts concluded the group stage with three victories out of three.

The match on Friday will also be the first between the teams since Argentina’s thrilling 3-3 draw in the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, which Argentina won on penalties.

But the men’s Olympic football competition is an under-23 event, even if each squad may include up to three players who are older than 23.

In the 2022 match, only two athletes from Argentina’s Olympic team—Nicolas Otamendi and Julian Alvarez—played, while none from France. That might take away some of the edge, but the match will still be exciting from a football perspective.

Argentina is vying for a third Olympic gold medal, having won two of them, the second in 2008 with a teenage Lionel Messi in the team.

Forty years after winning the football gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, France is aiming for another gold medal on home soil. Thiago Almada, an unused substitute in the 2022 World Cup final for Argentina, told broadcaster TyC Sports that “if we want to come away with the medal, we have to be ready to play any opponent wherever it might be.”

There aren’t many well-known players in either squad, though Michael Olise, a recent acquisition from Bayern Munich, will spearhead Argentina’s attack under the leadership of Alexandre Lacazette.

Also Read: Spain and Japan Advance to Knockouts with Victory at Paris Olympic 2024 – Argentina Rebounds

However, both teams have famous coaches: Argentina’s Javier Mascherano, a fellow former Barcelona star who won gold in the Olympics in Beijing and Athens, and France’s Thierry Henry, the 1998 World Cup winner.

The winner advances to a semi-final in Lyon on Monday, where they will play either Egypt or Paraguay, the 2004 silver medalists, in the last eight in Marseille.

On Friday, all of the quarterfinal matches will take place. In Paris, Morocco will play the United States, while in Lyon, Spain will play Japan.

Only a few weeks after winning Euro 2024, Spain is aiming for even greater glory—their second Olympic men’s football gold medal since 1992. Despite having a youthful team going into the Olympics, Japan managed to win all three of their group games, unlike any other team outside France.