Lopez fires Spain into Olympic football semi-finals, Morocco march on

Paris: A brilliant brace by Barcelona s Fermin Lopez helped fire Spain to a 3 0 win over Japan and a place in the semi finals of the Olympic men s foo...

Paris: A brilliant brace by Barcelona's Fermin Lopez helped fire Spain to a 3-0 win over Japan and a place in the semi-finals of the Olympic men's football on Friday, after a dominant Morocco outclassed the United States.

Lopez, a member of Spain's triumphant Euro 2024 squad, blasted in the opener with a left-foot strike from range in the 11th minute of the quarter-final against Japan in Lyon.

The 21-year-old midfielder struck again on 73 minutes with another goal of the highest quality as he controlled a Sergio Gomez corner before volleying in from the edge of the box, this time with his right foot.

Captain Abel Ruiz wrapped up the win late on after the Japanese defence failed to clear another Gomez corner.

Olympic champions in 1992 and silver medallists three years ago in Tokyo, Spain will now go to Marseille for a semi-final on Monday against Morocco, who were impressive 4-0 winners against the USA in Paris.