\n<\/p>\n
Fermin Lopez scored twice as Spain defeated Japan 3-0 in Lyon to move into the Olympic men’s football semi-finals.<\/b><\/p>\n
The Barcelona midfielder, 21, who was part of Spain’s victorious Euro 2024 squad, opened the scoring early on with a left-foot drive into the right corner and added his second, with a dipping right-foot shot from 20 yards, after the break.<\/p>\n
Mao Hosoya, who hit the post for Japan, thought he had equalised late in the first period but his effort was ruled out for offside after a lengthy video assistant referee review.<\/p>\n
Abel Ruiz’s late tap-in sealed victory for the European side, who will now play Morocco in Marseille on Monday (17:00 BST).<\/p>\n
Morocco dominated from start to finish at Parc des Princes as they thrashed the United States 4-0 to reach the competition’s last four for the first time. <\/p>\n
Soufiane Rahimi set them on their way, knocking in his fifth goal of the tournament from the penalty spot just before the half-hour mark.<\/p>\n
Ilias Akhomach doubled their lead with a close-range finish and captain Achraf Hakimi extended their advantage with a left-foot effort after a fine run.<\/p>\n
Substitute Mehdi Maouhoub rounded off the scoring with another penalty in stoppage time following a VAR review for a handball.<\/p>\n
“I felt like I was playing at home in this stadium where I play for my club, but also because our fans were very loud and were here in big numbers,” said Hakimi, who plays in France for Paris St-Germain.<\/p>\n
“Fans have been following us all tournament, I hope they can follow us all the way to the final. We want to make them proud.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n