Guinea demanded a lot from the favorites France and had some great chances, especially in the first half. In the end, the West Africans lacked that little bit of luck – and the Equipe Tricolore scored the 1:0 winner from a set piece
France didn’t really impress at the start of the Olympics, but they still managed to beat the USA 3:0 in the end. National coach Thierry Henry made one change, bringing on Akliouche for Millot on the right.
Guinea, on the other hand, who were unchanged from their disappointing 2-1 defeat to New Zealand, were under real pressure and needed points to avoid an early exit. The West Africans, led by Bremen’s Naby Keita, were eager to play and caused the French team problems for long stretches of the game.
The Guineans proved to be aggressive, repeatedly pressing forward and winning the ball. They also created more chances in the first half against their sometimes pomaded hosts. However, because goalkeeper Restes saved against Diawara (9′), Keita’s (40′) and Touré’s supposed goals (45+3) were both disallowed for offside and Lukeba saved on the line against his Leipzig club colleague Ilaix Moriba (45+10), the game went into half-time goalless.
France improve towards the end
After the break, it remained an intense and evenly-matched duel, but the Equipe Tricolore stepped up the pressure as the game wore on. However, the French had to wait until the 75th minute before they could celebrate: Following a throw-in, the Guineans failed to clear the ball decisively and, after a lateral move, Olise crossed from the right to Sildillia. The Freiburg player perfectly headed into the far corner from five meters.
The 1:0 was also the final score, as Guinea had no more arrows in their quiver and were ultimately beaten by the French. The West Africans therefore still have zero points, but are not yet eliminated, as the USA had previously beaten New Zealand 4-1. Should Guinea win by three goals or more against the Americans on the final matchday and New Zealand lose to France in the parallel game, Keita & Co. would still be through.
The hosts, on the other hand, are not through despite their six points and need at least one more point to reach the quarter-finals on their own.
