Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola describes Julian Alvarez as "absolutely our player" as he deflects questions about the Argentina striker's future.

The former Arsenal striker has repaired his reputation as a coach by guiding the hosts to the last four at Paris 2024 For a few seconds, before the on-field celebrations degenerated into a brawl between football’s newest worst enemies, France and Argentina, it was all about joy. The passionate chorus that had shaken the Matmut Atlantique Stadium non-stop for two hours of white-knuckle football reached a deafening fortissimo. One man stood apart in the collective delirium. He seemed consumed not by relief or exultation, but by fury. He repeatedly hit his temple with his index finger. Other managers would have sunk to their knees or embraced whichever member of their technical staff was closest, but no, not Thierry Henry. Continue reading...

Watch as scuffles break out between the teams after the final whistle of the quarter-final match that saw France beat Argentina 1-0 on day seven of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

France set up an Olympic men's football semi-final with Egypt by beating Argentina 1-0 in the quarter-finals.

Men’s quarter-final: France 1-0 ArgentinaJean-Philippe Mateta’s header puts hosts into semi-finalLatest medal table | Live Paris schedule | Full results If France had a point to make it was hammered home resoundingly and lapped up joyfully by a raucous audience who got what they came for. They had wanted to see an Argentina side put in their place and it was fitting, given the racism storm that had raged around this quarter-final, to see Jean-Philippe Mateta’s early goal secure a victory laden with meaning. Mateta, whose father was born in Democratic Republic of the Congo, is as French as anybody. So, too, the rest of a team that covered every blade of grass on an evening whose tension ramped up in an edgy closing spell. Continue reading...

Watch as France fans boo the Argentinian national anthem before the two sides' men's football quarter-final match on day seven of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Quarter-final updates in Bordeaux (8pm BST kick-off)Morocco thrash USMNT to reach semi-final Thierry Henry, who made nine changes for the final group game against New Zealand with France already through, restores eight of those players. The exception is Maghnes Akliouche; he misses out because Enzo Millot has recovered from injury. In other words this is the XI that started the competition for France. Argentina make three changes from their 2-0 win over Ukraine. Joaquin Garcia, Bruno Amione and Kevin Zenon replace Gonzalo Lujan, Julio Soler Barreto and Luciano Gondou. Continue reading...

Paris 2024 quarter-finals: Morocco 4-0 USAMorocco through to Olympic semi-finals for first timeLatest medal table | Live Paris schedule | Full results Morocco are through to the last four of the Olympic men’s football tournament for the first time after a dubious Soufiane Rahimi penalty opened the scoring, second-half goals by Ilias Akhomach and Achraf Hakimi brushed aside whatever suspense remained around their progress and a stoppage-time spot-kick by El Mehdi Maouhoub in a stroke of delirious overkill. The Atlas Lions, playing before what felt like a home crowd in the 16th arrondissement, denied the US a second trip to the semi-finals in 64 years and their first since their fourth-place finish in 2000, Tarik Sektioui’s side have surely felt star-kissed in this tournament ever since launching their campaign before the opening ceremony with a 2-1 win over two-time gold medalists Argentina in a match that was interrupted for almost two hours after a pitch invasion. But although Argentinian referee Yael Falcón Pérez’s decision to award a penalty for US right back Nathan Harriel’s challenge was harsh, the outcome even before the second-half onslaught was the correct one on a sun-splashed afternoon when the Americans didn’t see much of the ball and saw what crude forays into the final third they could muster easily snuffed out. By the end of the game, the US had engineered just one effort on target. Continue reading...

Argentina chanted racist song about French playersTense buildup to men’s football quarter-final in Paris The Olympic men’s football quarter-final between France and Argentina has been described as personal to every French citizen by the striker Jean-Philippe Mateta after uproar over footage of Argentina players singing racist chants. There have been tensions between the nations since the circulation of a video after last month’s Copa América final, in which Argentina’s squad are seen singing about French players with African heritage. Continue reading...

In Buenos Aires, fans took to the streets after a record-breaking 16th continental championship. But there is also an acknowledgement of a changing of the guard Each year, the US has 11 federal holidays. In Argentina, that number is 19, the 11th-most in the world. Celebration and commemoration are mandatory for Argentinians, but for almost three decades they were denied the kind of festivities the capital city of Buenos Aires craves. The country’s football team is making up for it now though. On Sunday night, a third successive party arrived as the city celebrated the team’s 2024 Copa América triumph, its second in a row after the 2021 title, sandwiched around the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Continue reading...

Fans in Buenos Aires and Miami celebrated wildly after Argentina secured a record 16th Copa América title by beating Colombia 1-0. Fans partied in the streets with songs, drums and fireworks. Some even hung from lampposts. Meanwhile, fans in Bogotá were left proud of their team despite the loss. One fan insisted that 'Colombia keep their spirits and heads high'. Martínez inspires Argentina to historic Copa América title in chaotic final Continue reading...

The Copa América final between Argentina and Colombia was delayed by more than an hour after thousands of fans without tickets tried to force their way into the stadium. Footage shows fans climbing into air vents and over fences to access to the stadium ahead of the game. Fans receive medical treatment at Copa América final amid chaos outside venue Continue reading...

Knockout rounds in the South American championship advance straight to penalties after full-time to help ease the burden on players Fans enjoying the feast of football served up this month by Copa América and Euro 2024, running concurrently on either side of the Atlantic, will have noticed one key difference between the two tournaments: there is no extra time at the end of tied games in the knockout stage of the South American championship. Conmebol, South American soccer’s governing body, decided that there would be no extra time played if scores were level at full-time in the quarter- and semi-finals. Instead, as was the case in three of the four quarter-final fixtures, the teams skipped straight to a penalty shootout. Only if all is square between Argentina and Colombia at the end of 90 minutes in the final will there be the conventional extra period of 30 minutes. Continue reading...

Colombia beat Uruguay 1-0 in their Copa América semi-final on Thursday despite being reduced to 10 men before half-time. Jefferson Lerma’s header booked a title decider against the defending champions Argentina. Continue reading...