In a repeat of the most recent men's World Cup final, France and Argentina now battle for the right to call themselves Paris 2024 Olympics semi-finalists on Friday.
The two intercontinental heavyweights clash at the Matmut Atlantique in Bordeaux, where the victor will be rewarded with a winnable semi-final showdown against either Egypt or Paraguay.
Match preview
© Imago
Living up to expectations and then some in the group phase, Olympic hosts France emulated Japan as just one of two teams to win all three of their group matches in the men's football tournament, while scoring seven goals and keeping three clean sheets in tow.
Thierry Henry's irrepressible men laid down an early marker in Group A with their 3-0 beatdown of the United States, although they had to wait until the second half for all three of their strikes, a story that repeated itself when Kiliann Sildillia's 75th-minute effort saw off Guinea.
However, in Tuesday's group finale against New Zealand, Jean-Philippe Mateta broke France's first-half duck, before Desire Doue and Arnaud Kalimuendo also struck after the break for Henry's second-half specialists, who topped their section without too much trouble whatsoever.
A first Olympic men's quarter-final since the 1996 Atlanta Games now awaits Les Bleus, who have to go back a staggering 40 years for the last time that they won a knockout Olympic match, when they won their first and only gold medal to date in the male tournament.
Quarter-final contests have often been a bugbear for the current Olympic hosts, who have lost five of their last six men's matches at this stage, but their overall unbeaten run now stands at an eye-catching nine matches since they concluded the Tokyo 2020 Games with an embarrassing 4-0 loss to Japan.
© Reuters
Quickly banishing the memories of their excruciating and unsavoury defeat to Morocco in their opening match of the tournament, Argentina had no issue sweeping aside Iraq and Ukraine to sneak into second place in Group B behind their African counterparts.
Thiago Almada stole a lot of the pre-tournament hype, and the first-ever World Cup winner from MLS delivered in both fixtures, netting the openers on both occasions, while Manchester City-bound Claudio Echeverri rubber-stamped Tuesday's 2-0 win over Ukraine in added time.
Matching Morocco on points, goal difference, goals scored and goals conceded, Argentina's controversial defeat to the Atlas Lions forced them to settle for second on head-to-head points, although their brief barren Olympic spell is now a thing of the past.
Indeed, Argentina are now through to the knockout rounds for the first time since their second and most recent gold medal triumph in 2008, having failed to make it past the group phase in both 2016 and 2021, and only one of their previous five quarter-final showdowns has ended in defeat.
That sole loss came at the hands of Brazil in 1988, but while the senior France and Argentina sides engaged in a truly unforgettable battle in Qatar a year and a half ago, Friday's meeting will be their first showdown in the men's Olympics football tournament.
Team News
© Imago
France boss Henry unsurprisingly did not shy away from making a handful of changes for Tuesday's scrap with New Zealand, where in-demand Rennes starlet Doue and Kalimuendo were among the new starters to justify their inclusions.
However, neither man should expect to reprise their roles in the quarter-final, where captain Alexandre Lacazette and Bayern Munich new boy Michael Olise are primed to return alongside Crystal Palace hitman Mateta in the final third.
Further back, Loic Bade, Adrien Truffert and teenage goalkeeper Guillaume Restes will bring fresh legs to the rearguard; the latter will replace his 21-year-old colleague Obed Nkambadio as the last line of defence, but it remains to be seen if Enzo Millot is fit following a training injury.
Regarding Argentina's availability, Javier Mascherano ought to be working with an identical crop of players from the win over Ukraine, where Lucas Beltran was fit enough for a second-half cameo after his early withdrawal in the Iraq success.
Beltran was brought on for Julian Alvarez in the latter stages of Tuesday's success, but he should now resume his partnership with the Manchester City man from the first whistle, as Mascherano sticks with his 4-4-2 formula.
Echeverri needed just 10 minutes to make an impact in the final group game, but the 18-year-old protege should be consigned to another substitute outing as Giuliano Simeone and Almada continue in the wide positions.
France possible starting lineup:
Restes; Sildillia, Bade, Lukeba, Truffert; Akliouche, Kone, Chotard; Olise; Lacazette, Mateta
Argentina possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Lujan, Otamendi, Di Cesare, Soler; Simeone, Fernandez, Medina, Almada; Beltran, Alvarez
We say: France 2-1 Argentina
While France had the luxury of resting some of their top stars in midweek, Argentina's notable names were not afforded such respite due to their volatile group standing, and fatigue may be evident for the South Americans here.
A titanic battle can be expected regardless, one where Henry's men ought to lose their perfect defensive record, but the hosts still have our backing to march on to the semi-finals.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
