MAR vs ESP, Paris 2024 Olympics men’s football semifinal Highlights: Juanlu’s late goal helps Spain past Morocco into final

Seven minutes added on as Morocco goes hunting for an equaliser. Spain has understandably opted to sit back. 

Desperation time for Morocco. Ezzalzoui looks to curl one into the top corner from distance. Not far away. Morocco running out of time. 

Smooth passing from Spain to break through the right side. Fermin Lopez lays it onto the path of Juanlu, who thumps it into the right bottom corner. 

The game has opened up a bit with exhausted limbs giving both attacks more space to operate. Morocco nearly makes it count. But the Moroccan attackers fail to make the best of the half chances it had. 

Ben Seghir fakes one off his right and then lets fly with his left foot. Skims past the left upright. Morocco keeps it coming with Rahimi and Hakimi heavily involved in the attacks. But Spain holds fort. 

Adriane Bernabe is forced into making a foul to deny Rahimi a run at the goal. Instant yellow card. Moroccan players are furious. A cooling break comes in at the right time. 

Cynical foul by Aimar Oroz on Hakimi. Foul given by the referee, but no yellow card. Spain loses the ball inside the box. Richardson fires a shot which misses the top corner by not much. 

Slick footwork from Fermin Lopez to scoop up the ball inside the box and power it past the Moroccan goalkeeper to bring Spain level. 

Brilliant defending by Ezzalzouli to prevent Spain from putting a cross in from the right wing. More possession for Spain, but the Moroccan goalkeeper is largely untested. 

Spain’s Juan Miranda attempts a shot from outside the box. Goes high and wide. Spain appeals vehemently for a corner. The referee doesn’t relent. 

Morocco’s low block continues to frustrate the Spanish side. Not much attacking forays from either sides. Morocco’s turn to pass the ball round a bit. 

Cagey start to the second half as Morocco looks to take the game deep. Spain getting a lot more space in the middle third to pass the ball around. 

Spain attacks down the right through Sergio Gomez. The cross is a weak one and it is cleared away by the Moroccan defence. 

Spain gets the second half underway as it chases the equaliser. 

Alex Baena with a shot from outside the box. Clips off the bottom half of the post after a deflection. Closest Spain has come to scoring. That is it for the half time. Morocco takes a 1-0 lead at the break. 

Aimar Oroz cracks a half volley from inside the box. El Kajoui has it covered. Morocco breaks free on a counter attack. Rahimi slides one in for Ben Seghir. Smashed with in-step. But just over the cross bar. 

12 minutes added on in account of the referee change and the VAR check for the penalty. 

Another foul from Spain. Morocco utilises the set piece to retain possession. Spain’s frustration growing by the minute. 

Moroccan players are charged . The pressure is intense from the African side and thankfully for Spain a cooling break is taken. 

Rahimi steps up to take the penalty. He buries it to the goalkeeper’s left with power. 

Morocco leads 1-0!

Morocco’s turn to swing a corner in. The ball bounces around the Spanish box. Morocco’s Richardson is brought down inside the box by Cubarsi. 

VAR confirms the penalty.

Spain pushes Morocco back into the defensive third. Morocco’s attacking outlets restricted to counters. Fermin Lopez makes room for himself inside the box. His shot though is wayward. 

Better passing from Spain as it gains control of the proceedings. Another penalty box entry, but nothing comes out of it. Spain wins a corner down the left. El Kajoui punches it away. 

Abel Ruiz gains control of a loose ball inside the box. His shot though is blocked. Fermin Lopez is the next to have a crack. Better shot this time. El Kajoui is forced into a low diving save to turn it over. 

Match restarts with a Moroccan freekick. Rahimi with some slick ball control inside the box. He crumbles under the Spanish pressure. No penalty says the umpire. 

We have an unusual scenario. The Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev is injured in a collision with a Spanish player and is replaced with Glenn Nyberg. 

Morocco ‘s intensity has taken Spain by surprise. The Spanish side is unable to make much of a progression. Spanish midfield forced to resort to fouls to restrict the Moroccan passing movement. 

Sergio Gomez gives away a cheap freekick and Morocco has a chance to put the ball into the Spanish box. Swung in by Akhomach. But it bounces right into the arms of goalkeeper Tenas. 

Spain unable to get into a rhythm as Morocco’s low block frustrates them. Morocco skipper Hakimi is leading the charge for the African side. 

Spain loses the ball in the midfield and Morocco gets a chance to break. But Spanish defence gets back in time to cover up. Spain wins the first corner of the day. Easy gather for Morocco keeper El Kajoui. 

Morocco in their primary red kit while Spain is in their lemon yellow colours. 

Both teams are out in the middle. The national anthems are sung and we are about to start. 

Morocco: Munir El Kajoui, Achraf Hakimi, Mehdi Boukamir, Eliesse Ben Seghir, Soufiane Rahimi, Ilias Akhomach, Zakaria El Ouahdi, Oussama Targhalline, Abde Ezzalzouli, Oussama El Azzouzi, Amir Richardson.

Spain: Arnau Tenas, Marc Pubill, Juan Miranda, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Pablo Barrios, Abel Ruiz, Alex Baena, Fermin Lopez, Aimar Oroz, Sergio Gomez.

Welcome to Sportstar’s Live Blog of the men’s football semifinal clash between Spain and Morocco in Paris Olympics 2024.