MARSEILLE, France: Goalkeeper Hamza Alaa saved a penalty by Marcelo Perez and Egypt defeated Paraguay 5-4 in a shootout to reach the semifinals of the men’s soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics on Friday.
Ibrahim Adel converted the final penalty kick to seal the win for Egypt after the teams had drawn 1-1 in regulation and failed to score in extra time.
Egypt will face either Argentina or France in the last four.
The other semifinal will be between Spain and Morocco. The Spaniards defeated Japan on Friday, while Morocco got past the United States.
Paraguay took the lead in regulation with a goal by Diego Gomez in a breakaway in the 71st minute, but Egypt sent the game into extra time with Adel’s header in the 88th.
Paraguay were runner-up to Argentina in 2004 in Athens but had not played in the last four Olympic Games. Egypt’s best result was fourth in 1964 in Tokyo.
Egypt beat Paraguay on penalties to reach semifinals of men’s soccer tournament at Olympics
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Egypt beat Paraguay on penalties to reach semifinals of men’s soccer tournament at Olympics
- Ibrahim Adel converted the final penalty kick to seal the win for Egypt
- Egypt will face either Argentina or France in the last four
Neres double leads Napoli to Super Cup glory in Riyadh
- The Italian Super Cup final took place at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh as Napoli faced first-time participants Bologna
- Napoli defeated AC Milan in the first semi-final on December 18, while Bologna edged past Inter Milan on penalties on December 19
It was a night to remember for David Neres. Arriving in Riyadh looking to cement a regular starting role, the Brazilian winger delivered in emphatic fashion, scoring twice to follow up on his semi-final to lead Napoli to the title and conclude his performance as Man of the Match.
Neres, who netted his first brace for the club exactly one month ago against Atalanta in the Serie A, will have given Napoli’s coaching staff plenty to think about after his decisive performances in the four-team tournament.
Initially, Napoli were made to work for their breakthrough. Bologna kept them at bay for the opening half hour, with Neres and Rasmus Hojlund managing to break past the lines on more than one occasion, only to be denied Torborjn Heggem and Jhon Lucumi.
Semi-final hero Federico Ravaglia’s composure was on show as he protected the Bologna between the posts, but he was finally beaten in the 39th minute by a moment of quality, as Neres curled a superb strike into the corner to give Napoli the lead.
Napoli maintained control after the break, showcasing their passing combinations in front of the energetic Riyadh crowd while searching for a second to put the game beyond doubt.
That second arrived in the 57th minute, with Neres once again in the heart of it. The winger won possession from Lucumi on the edge of the box before clipping it over Ravaglia to extend Napoli’s lead.
Neres was inches away from completing his hat-trick, racing forward on the counter following a through ball to Hojlund, only for the latter's pass across the box proving a tad powerful for the Brazilian to convert.
When Neres was withdrawn 15 minutes later, the stadium rose to applaud his performance, deservedly, as he carried Napoli to their first Super Cup title in over a decade.
Napoli nearly added a third late on, when in the 87th minute, Matteo Politano was found right in front of the open net only to lift his effort narrowly over the crossbar.
The victory – Napoli’s maiden triumph in Riyadh – represents their third Italian Super Cup title, following previous triumphs in 1990 and 2014. It was a fitting moment of redemption, after their injury-time defeat to Inter Milan at Al-Awwal Park in the 2023 final.
The 2025/26 was the sixth Italian Super Cup hosted in the Kingdom, with Napoli becoming the fourth different winner after Juventus (2018, 2019), Inter Milan (2022, 2023) and AC Milan (2024/25).
