U.S. men’s soccer team blown out of Olympics with 4-0 loss to Morocco

The recipe for an upset in soccer isn’t too different from other sports. When a team with less talent outworks a team with more talent, the underdog can win.

But when the favorite brings hustle and skill, it’s probably going to win. That’s what Morocco did to the U.S. men’s soccer team on Friday, in a 4-0 rout that eliminated the Americans in the quarterfinals.

Soufiane Rahimi opened the scoring with a 29th-minute penalty kick. Ilias Akhomach made it 2-0 in the 63rd, Achraf Hakimi, the team’s biggest star, made it 3-0 in the 70th, and Mehdi Maouhoub finished things with another penalty kick in the 90th.

The Union’s Jack McGlynn and Nathan Harriel and alumnus Paxten Aaronson started, a reward for their good play in the group stage. Alas, McGlynn picked up an early yellow card for a foul, and Harriel committed the foul that drew the first penalty kick.

» READ MORE: The U.S. men's soccer team was in the Olympics quarterfinals for the first time in 24 years

Akhomach’s goal came on a beautiful fast-break play. Abde Ezzalzouli sprinted down the left wing and crossed for Akhomach, who came up the middle just as fast and slammed in a finish. Both players play often for major Spanish clubs, Akhomach at Villarreal and Ezzalzouli at Real Betis, and they showed their quality on the goal.

The U.S. defense doubtless did not look good on Hakimi’s goal, when he charged up from his right back spot and through the middle of the field before blasting in a shot. And Harriel’s nightmare of a day was completed when he committed a handball that led to the second penalty kick.

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What happened to the U.S. squad that put a combined seven goals past New Zealand and Guinea in its last two group stage games? Simple: Morocco was a much better team than either of those. The Atlas Lions won their group by toppling star-studded Argentina, with raucous crowds following them across France.

It was no surprise that they packed the stands in Paris on Friday, too. Moroccans are France’s second-biggest immigrant population, and a lot of them live in the Paris region. Hakimi knows that better than anyone: his club’s home stadium hosted Friday’s game.

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Morocco also came into this game after winning its group by beating Argentina, which has arguably the tournament’s biggest individual star in Manchester City striker Julián Álvarez. The Atlas Lions will play Spain, which beat Japan, 3-0, in Monday’s first semifinal in Marseille (noon, E!, Telemundo 62, Peacock) -- and it should be a terrific matchup.

Host France will play Egypt in Monday’s second semifinal, in Lyon (3 p.m., USA Network joined in progress, Telemundo 62, Peacock). France beat Argentina, 1-0, and Egypt beat Paraguay on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie.

Losing a game 4-0 is always unpleasant. If your instinct is to demand that U.S. manager Marko Mitrović be fired, you won’t have to worry because the U.S. Olympic team coaching job usually has been a part-time role.

The Olympics are the only tournament the Americans play in at the under-23 age group, so there won’t be much to do until 2028 — and the U.S. won’t have to play qualifiers for that tournament because it’s in Los Angeles.

It’s also necessary to remember that club teams aren’t required to release players to national teams for the Olympics, the way they are for the World Cup, Copa América, and other senior-level tournaments. If the U.S. could have built its ideal under-23 squad (plus the three overage players per side the Olympics allow), the roster would have looked quite different.

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But the Olympics undoubtedly are a big stage, which is why fans inevitably complained on social media that they had to watch a 4-0 loss.

The real measuring stick will come in how many of the players from this tournament’s squad make the senior team as it prepares to cohost the World Cup in 2026. If not many of them do, it will show that this squad was what it was — and that qualifying for the Olympics at all for the first time since 2008 was an accomplishment.

Alas, we won’t have that answer for two years, and patience has never been American soccer fans’ strong suit.

That’s another way soccer is like other sports, especially if you’re from Philadelphia.

Both games are Monday.

Noon: Morocco vs. Spain at Marseille (E!, Telemundo 62, Peacock)

3 p.m.: France vs. Egypt at Lyon (USA Network joined in progress, Telemundo 62, Peacock)

Aug. 8, 11 a.m.: TBD vs. TBD at Nantes (English TV TBD, Telemundo 62, Peacock)

Aug. 9, noon: TBD vs. TBD at Paris (USA Network, Telemundo 62, Peacock)