Olympics PIX: Chaos as Morocco beat Argentina; France whip US

A round-up of the opening day's action in the men's football tournament at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.

A fan invasion in the opening match of the Olympic football tournament between Argentina and Morocco on Wednesday caused chaos, with Argentina eventually beaten 2-1 following a VAR review after play was suspended with the score tied at 2-2.

Argentina's Cristian Medina scored deep in injury time to salvage what looked like a 2-2 draw, but the decision ruling out the goal was delivered about two hours after play was suspended when the teams re-emerged on to the pitch to finish the match in an empty stadium.

The teams played for three minutes and 15 seconds after VAR completed its review and disallowed the goal.

After order was restored in Saint-Etienne and the teams had left the field following the fan invasion, they discovered that the match had not been completed but suspended by officials.

The venue manager told Reuters the game had been interrupted, adding that a decision about whether the match would be completed was being discussed.

The teams re-emerged just before 7:00 p.m. local time and warmed up a second time so the final minutes could be played.

The gold medal winners in 2004 and 2008 were not at their best despite lining up with recent Copa America winners Julian Alvarez, Nicolas Otamendi and Geronimo Rulli.

Soufiane Rahimi put Morocco ahead after Achraf Hakimi set him up from the right following a superb passing move in the final seconds of the first half.

Rahimi doubled the advantage and netted his second from the penalty spot in the 49th minute before Giuliano Simeone pulled one back for Javier Mascherano's side in the 68th.

Medina then found the net 16 minutes into stoppage time before fans stormed the pitch and objects were thrown at players as chaos erupted in the eastern French city.

"I don't remember something like this happening at this level, that the match is suspended for an hour and a half, warming up for 10 minutes and then play three," said Argentina manager Mascherano.

"What happened on the pitch was a scandal, it's not a neighbourhood tournament, it's the Olympics."

Organisers later said they were working with stakeholders to understand the causes of the pitch invasion and determine appropriate measures.

France too good for United States

Hosts France later made a good start to their tournament in Marseille with two goals in eight minutes after the hour mark and a late header from Loic Bade gave them a comfortable 3-0 win over the United States.

Captain Alexandre Lacazette sent a big crowd wild with a superb long-range effort to open the scoring before a fine strike from Michael Olise doubled the lead for Thierry Henry's side.

After the drama in St-Etienne, organisers will have been relieved that Israel's Group D opener against Mali at the Parc des Princes in Paris passed off without incident.

The 1-1 draw was played amid tight security because of heightened geopolitical tensions.

Diallo Hamidou's own goal put Israel ahead 11 minutes after the break but Doumbia Cheickna equalised for the African side with a fine header in the 63rd minute.

Spain scrape past Uzbekistan

Spain beat Uzbekistan 2-1 in their opening match of Group C at the Parc de Princes.

Spain, who struggled to hit their stride in the opening stages of the game, took the lead in the 29th minute against Uzbekistan with a close-range finish from Marc Pubill off Abel Ruiz's flick.

Uzbekistan, cheered on by an ecstatic crowd, equalised just before half-time thanks to Eldor Shomurodov's penalty following a VAR review for a Pau Cubarsi foul.

"For me, Uzbekistan were no surprise," Spain coach Santi Denia said. "We have achieved our objective, but it's been a very difficult game and now it is time to improve. That's my job, I have to transmit better."

"I told the team at halftime to improve ball circulation, which was what we were missing. We have to improve that. If we do it we will have more options to achieve victory."

Spain wasted a golden chance to restore the lead after the break when Sergio Gomez's penalty effort was saved by Abduvohid Nematov, but the Real Sociedad player redeemed himself and found the net in the 62nd minute.

• THE OLYMPICS, 2024