Argentina achieved its first victory in the men's Olympic football tournament. The two-time champions won 3-1 against Iraq in a Group B match played in Lyon.
As early as the eighth minute, Thiago Almada opened the scoring in favor of the "gauchos" after an assist from Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez.
Deep into extra time in the first half, Aymen Hussein equalized for the Iraqi team.
After the break, the superiority of the Argentines was serious and they reached two more goals. In the 62nd minute, Luciano Gondu also scored in favor of Argentina, and so did his teammate Ezequiel Fernandez five minutes before the end of the regular time of the match.
"The Gauchos" they have three points after two games played, having lost 1:2 against Morocco three days ago after a match marred by scandals.
In group "C" the Olympic vice-champion Spain prevailed with 3:1 against the Dominican Republic in Bordeaux.
Fermin Lopez opened the scoring after 24 minutes, but Angel Montes de Oca surprisingly equalized just 13 minutes later.
The Dominicans remained with a reduced squad due to Edison Ascona's red card in the extra time of the first half.
In the second half, Alex Baena and Miguel Gutierrez scored within a quarter of an hour and decided everything in the match with their goals. Villarreal midfielder Baena, who was part of Spain's squad that won the Euro 2024 title two weeks ago, scored with a long-range shot and Gutierrez made it 3-1 with an empty-netter in the 70th minute.
With their second consecutive success, the Spaniards qualified for the next phase of the Olympic tournament in France.