Egypt beats Paraguay on penalties to reach semifinals of men's soccer tournament at Olympics
Paraguay's Gilberto Flores (5) is unable to deflect a cross as Egypt's Ibrahim Adel, right, prepares to head the ball in for a goal during a men's quarterfinal soccer match between Egypt and Paraguay at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, at Marseille Stadium in Marseille, France. Credit: AP/Julio Cortez
MARSEILLE, France — Goalkeeper Hamza Alaa saved a penalty by Marcelo Perez and Egypt defeated Paraguay 5-4 in a shootout to reach the semifinals of the men's soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics on Friday.
Ibrahim Adel converted the final penalty kick to seal the win for Egypt after the teams had drawn 1-1 in regulation and failed to score in extra time.
Egypt will face France in the last four on Monday in Lyon.
The other semifinal will be between Spain and Morocco. The Spaniards defeated Japan on Friday, while Morocco got past the United States.
Paraguay took the lead in regulation with a goal by Diego Gomez in a breakaway in the 71st minute, but Egypt sent the game into extra time with Adel's header in the 88th.
Paraguay was runner-up to Argentina in 2004 in Athens but had not played in the last four Olympic Games. Egypt's best result was fourth in 1964 in Tokyo.
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