Argentina Bounces Back in Olympic Soccer with 3-1 Win Over Iraq

Argentina reignited its Olympic men's soccer campaign by defeating Iraq 3-1 in Lyon. Aymen Hussein's equalizer was short-lived as goals from Luciano Gondou and Ignacio Fernandez secured the win after Thiago Almada opened the scoring. Spain also advanced to the quarterfinals by beating the Dominican Republic 3-1.

Argentina reignited its Olympic men's soccer campaign by defeating Iraq 3-1 on Saturday in Lyon.

After a shocking 2-1 loss to Morocco in the Group B opener, mired by a pitch invasion and a two-hour delay, Argentina was under pressure to perform better.

Aymen Hussein briefly leveled the game in first-half stoppage time, but goals from Luciano Gondou and Ignacio Fernandez in the second half secured the win after Thiago Almada's initial goal in the 14th minute.

Gondou's far-post header in the 62nd minute restored Argentina's lead, and Fernandez clinched the victory with a long-range shot from the edge of the box in the 85th minute, leaving Argentina level with Iraq and Morocco on three points.

In another match, Spain reached the quarterfinals with a 3-1 win over the Dominican Republic in Bordeaux, thanks to goals from Fermín Lopez, Alex Baena, and Miguel Gutierrez.