Ruslan Rotan's team dramatically won historic points at the Olympic Games and retains a chance to reach the playoffs.
The Ukrainian national team defeated Morocco in the second round of the 2024 Olympic football tournament. The match at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Etienne ended with a score of 2:1.
The Blue-Yellows took the lead in the 22nd minute of the match. Maxim Bragarou dealt with the opponent on the left flank of the penalty area and crossed into the center, where Dmitry Kryskiv sent the ball into touch into the near corner.
In the second half, the Moroccans managed to equalize the score – in the 64th minute, Sufyan Rahimi converted the penalty, who was brought down in his own penalty area by Vladimir Salyuk. At first, the referee showed the Ukrainian defender a yellow card, but after watching the moment on VAR, he changed his decision and punished Salyuk with a straight red card.
Consequently, Ruslan Rotan's charges were left in the minority. The Moroccan team put pressure on the “blue-yellows” goal, but the Ukrainians not only managed to hold on to a draw, but also scored the winning goal. In the 90+8th minute, Igor Krasnopir scored in a counterattack, closing out a pass by Oleg Fedor.
Full video of the match Ukraine – Morocco
It should be noted that Ukraine is represented in the Olympic football tournament for the first time in history at the 2024 Games.
In the first round, the Ukrainian team lost to Iraq (1:2), and the Morocco team beat Argentina (2:1) in a scandalous match.
In another match of the second round of Group B, the Argentina team beat Iraq with a score of 3:1.
Group B standings after two rounds: Argentina (3 points), Morocco (3 points), Ukraine (3 points), Iraq (3 points).
In the final, third round of the group stage, Rotan's team will play Argentina in Lyon on July 30. Morocco and Iraq will compete in a parallel match.
The two best teams from each quartet will advance to the playoffs. If the “blue-yellows” manage to get through to the quarterfinals, they will play there against a representative of Group A (France, USA, Guinea, New Zealand).
According to the regulations, players born after January 1, 2001 are allowed to participate in the Olympic football tournament. Each team was allowed to include only three players older than this age in the application.