Furious US soccer fans SLAM Olympic team after 'embarrassing' and 'pathetic' defeat to Morocco
- READ MORE: Andy Murray admits that Paris Olympics exit gives him 'closure'
- READ MORE: Son of former England soccer player races in men's 1500m heat
- READ MORE: Olympics official sent home after controversial hang gesture
American soccer fans have blasted the US Olympics team after its heavy 4-0 defeat to Morocco on Friday, as they were quick to react to the quarterfinals loss on social media afterward.
Soufiane Rahimi, Ilias Akhomach, Achraf Hakimi and Mehdi Maouhoub all scored the goals at Parc des Princes that ended US hopes of a medal at the Paris Games.
Morocco, which enjoyed fervent support in the French capital, will play Spain in the semifinals in Marseille on Monday.
The US qualified for the quarterfinals of the Olympics for the first time since Sydney 2000 but didn't do enough so the Americans were outclassed by a polished Morocco team that had already beaten Argentina in the group stage.
'Pathetic performance from USMNT,' a fan of the Star and Stripes reacted on X.
American players, including Inter Miami's Benjamin Cremaschi, looked dejected at full-time
Morocco ran riot through Soufiane Rahimi, Ilias Akhomach, Achraf Hakimi & Mehdi Maouhoub
'US men's soccer at all levels coddled rich kids, in a pay to play system, who've never had to fight or struggle for anything and it shows. No heart,' another US fan wrote.
'Copa America and the Olympics have shown that US Soccer has a long way to go,' a fellow compatriot shared, referring to the US' early exit at the Copa America in June.
At the tournament, the US crashed out in the group stages after defeats to Panama and Uruguay despite a win against Bolivia, resulting in then-USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter losing his job.
But, despite all of the criticism after the blowout loss to Morocco, the US Olympics team received some praise and encouragement from Major League Soccer (MLS) on social media.
'Proud of these boys no matter what,' the league's official X account shared on X with two snaps of American players from Friday's game, including one of them in a huddle and another of them lined up before kickoff.
'Brough us back to the Olympics for the first time since 2008. Qualified for the knockouts for the first time since 2000.'
In front of a packed crowd at the home of Paris Saint-Germain, Morocco dominated the chances in the first half but needed a penalty to find a breakthrough after Nathan Harriel fouled Rahimi in the box.
Despite protests from the American players, referee Yael Falcon Perez pointed to the spot and Rahimi fired low to the left and beyond the dive of Patrick Schulte.
Miles Robinson had a golden chance to level the game in the 59th when collecting a knockdown from about six yards out but shot wide.
That miss proved even more costly when Morocco extended its lead four minutes later through Akhomach, who slotted past Schulte from close range after Abde Ezzalzouli´s cross.
Hakimi, who plays his club soccer for PSG, added a third shortly after - carrying the ball to the edge of the box before firing into the bottom right hand corner.
Morocco made it 4-0 in stoppage time when Nathan Harriel handled in the box and, after a VAR review, a second penalty was awarded and Maouhoub converted.
