Olympic roundup: Argentina fight back to beat Iraq, Ukraine earn dramatic win

Argentina earned a 3-1 win over Iraq in Lyon to bounce back from their chaotic opening loss to Morocco in the Olympic men’s football tournament.

Argentina opened the scoring after 14 minutes thanks to Thiago Almada’s volley after Julián Álvarez had set him up, but Iraq captain Aymen Hussein equalised seconds before half-time with a brilliant header.

Substitute Luciano Gondou restored Argentina’s lead with a close-range finish before a superb strike by Ezequiel Fernández six minutes from time secured victory for Argentina. The 2004 and 2008 gold medallists are now top of Group B on goal difference, with all four teams on three points after two games.

In the group’s other game, ten-man Ukraine claimed a dramatic 2-1 win over Morocco in Saint-Étienne. Dmytro Kryskiv struck the opener after 22 minutes but the game turned just after the hour when Morocco’s Soufiane Rahimi, who scored twice against Argentina, was brought down in the area by Volodymyr Salyuk.

Centre-back Salyuk was shown a straight red card after a VAR review, and Rahimi stepped up to convert the penalty. Morocco pushed forward but the Ukraine defence held off wave after wave of attack – and in the 10th minute of stoppage time, Ihor Krasnopir bundled home a winner to earn Ukraine their first Olympic triumph.

In Group C, Spain outclassed the Dominican Republic 3-1 in Bordeaux to secure their place in the quarter-finals. Fermin López slotted home Spain’s opener but Ángel Montes De Oca headed in a surprise equaliser before the break. The underdogs went in level but a man down, Edison Azcona sent off for kicking out at Pau Cubarsi.

Alejandro Baena restored Spain’s lead when his long-range strike deflected into the net in the 55th minute, and Miguel Gutiérrez’s tap-in sealed victory. Spain top the group by two points from Egypt, who ended Uzbekistan’s hopes of progress with a 1-0 victory in Nantes, Ahmed Koka scoring a fortunate winner in the 11th minute.

In Group D, Paraguay bounced back from losing 5-0 to Japan in their opening match with a 4-2 victory over Israel at the Parc des Princes. Marcelo Fernández was on target twice, with Julio Enciso and Fabian Balbuena adding second-half goals.