Argentina vs Iraq

Parc Olympique Lyonnais is the venue as Argentina take on Iraq in a must-win 2024 Olympic Games encounter.

Argentina’s opening game at the Olympics brimmed with controversy as La Albiceleste lost 2-1 to Morocco under unreal circumstances. Javier Mascherano’s men were trailing by a goal heading into second-half stoppages, only for Cristian Medina’s 106th-minute equalizer to make fans storm onto the pitch and halt proceedings. Players returned to the field nearly two hours later to see VAR disallow Argentina’s goal, handing Morocco a pivotal victory in their Group B opener. Anything other than three points against sub-par Iraq on matchday two would likely bring the South American heavyweights one step closer to a third consecutive group-stage elimination at the Olympics. Indeed, the Argentines have only won one of their last five matches at the games (D2, L2).

On the other hand, Iraq performed a sensational second-half comeback to overturn a narrow deficit against Ukraine to grab a crucial 2-1 win at the beginning of their third Olympic adventure in the 21st century. Radhi Shenaishil’s side will seek another upset to increase their chances of progressing from the Olympic group phase for the first time since 2004 when they finished fourth. No strangers to defying the odds, Iraq held Argentina’s bitter rivals Brazil to a draw in the 2016 Olympic Games and will be out to replicate that feat this weekend. Cagey openers have seen just one of Iraq’s last four fixtures at the Olympics produce a goal before halftime.