French rugby 7s in the quarter-finals, Thierry Henry’s Blues make a successful entry, Sinner out… The recap of Wednesday July 24

The rugby players secured their ticket to the quarter-finals thanks to their success against Uruguay (19-12) and the French football team won against the United States (3-0) on Wednesday.

The opening ceremony has not yet taken place but the first Olympic events have started all over France, Wednesday July 24. Team sports have taken the spotlight with the start of the group stages of rugby 7s and men’s football. The French team in both sports has entered the competition and despite a few scares, the results are positive. As for the tennis tournament, a headliner has already announced his withdrawal.

Rugby 7s: without shining, the Blues qualify for the quarter-finals

Having become “gold diggers”, the Blues of rugby 7s, expected due to the presence of Antoine Dupont in their ranks, trembled a little for their debut. First opposed to the United States, the French conceded a draw (12-12) while leading by five points with two minutes to go in the match thanks to tries by Jordan Sepho and Rayan Rebbadj. Foul on several occasions, the Blues recovered against Uruguay with a 19-12 victory that ensures their qualification for the quarter-finals before their final group match against the reigning Olympic champions: Fiji (Thursday, 3:30 p.m.).

Football (H): successful debut for Thierry Henry’s players

Ambitious for the first time in many years, the French men’s team is aiming for gold in Paris and dreams of joining its predecessors from 1984. To do this, it will first have to get out of the group stages and that is looking pretty good. After a timid start against the tenacious Americans, Thierry Henry’s Blues made the difference in the second half to win in Marseille 3-0 thanks to goals from Alexandre Lacazette (62nd), Michael Olise (69th) and Loïc Badé (85th). With this success, the French team provisionally takes the lead in its group while the two best teams will clinch their place in the quarter-finals.

Tennis (H): Jannik Sinner, a favourite on the mat

Italy was certainly counting on Jannik Sinner, world number one, to win its first Olympic medal in tennis, 100 years after Umberto Luigi de Morpurgo at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Unfortunately for the Italians, the young phenomenon was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to tonsillitis. A real blow for the 22-year-old, especially since tennis is taking place on the courts of Roland-Garros, where he reached the semi-finals less than two months ago.

2030 Winter Olympics: France still the winner

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games have barely begun and France is already looking ahead to 2030. The International Olympic Committee awarded the organization of the 2030 Winter Olympic Games to the candidacy of the French Alps on Wednesday, July 24. An award “under conditions“, due to doubts about the financial guarantees of the candidacy linked to the current political instability in France. The deadlines of October 1 and March 1 have been set to guarantee this funding.

Football (H): confusion and excesses during Argentina-Morocco

This is probably the first major hiccup of these Olympic Games. The football match between Morocco and Argentina gave spectators at the Saint-Etienne stadium a fantastic scenario. While the Argentinians thought they had snatched a draw after sixteen minutes of added time, the referee sent everyone back to the locker rooms after Moroccan supporters invaded the pitch and threw bottles, cups and even firecrackers.

After a two-hour interruption, the match finally resumed for four minutes while the Argentinian goal was disallowed for offside, allowing Achraf Hakimi’s teammates to secure a prestigious victory (2-1) for their first group match.