Morocco U23 vs United States U23 prediction 02.08.2024 | Olympic Games

• Competition: Olympic Games, Quarter Finals
• Date: Friday, 2nd August, 2024
• Kickoff: 14:00 UK / 15:00 CEST
• Venue: Parc des Princes (Paris)

On Friday afternoon, Morocco U23 and USA U23 will play in the first quarterfinal game of the Olympic Games football tournament at Parc des Princes in Paris.

After missing the previous two Olympic Games in Brazil and Japan, Morocco U23 qualified this year by winning the Africa Cup of Nations U23. Reaching the quarterfinals already marks Morocco's most successful Olympic campaign. Since 1992, when U23 teams began competing in the Olympics instead of senior teams, Morocco have never advanced past the group stage in their four appearances. Now, bookmakers have them favored to defeat the USA U23, offering odds around 1.65 to reach the semifinals.

USA U23 had an impressive run in the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, winning the tournament with a combined goal difference of 16:0 against Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic in the knockout phase. However, they opened this Olympic tournament with a 3:0 loss to France U23. The team recovered with two big wins against New Zealand U23 and Guinea U23, securing second place in Group A. This marks only the second time the USA U23 have reached the knockout phase in the Olympics. Their best placement so far was fourth in 2000, and it remains to be seen if they can surpass that achievement this year.

Morocco U23 vs USA U23 pick: Over 2.5 goals

Morocco U23 have been pretty good offensively in the Olympics, scoring six goals in three games - two per game. They managed to score three against Iraq and two against Argentina. They only failed to score two (or more) goals in the 2:1 loss to Ukraine U23. However, they also created many chances to score in that match, having 17 goal attempts, 61% ball possession, and 2.19 xG. So, it is fair to say we can expect a couple of goals against the USA U23, which was far from good defensively.

USA U23 scored seven goals in the tournament. They probably faced easier opponents in Guinea U23 and New Zealand U23, but they are generally a team that pretty much always looks great offensively. So, we are not worried about their ability to score once or twice.

Mostly due to a good offense, these teams were over 2.5 goals in all six games (combined) in the Olympics and we expect another high-scoring game, most likely with both teams scoring.