It was a bad day at the office for Argentina as they kicked off their Paris Olympics 2024 campaign on a sour note. La Albiceleste U23s endured a 2-1 loss at the hands of Group A rivals Morocco in a game marred by many controversies, including fans and VAR calls. As they reel from the disappointment, senior star player Rodrigo De Paul has sent a special message to Javier Mascherano and Co. by voicing his support for the injustice.

The World Cup winner took to Instagram stories to share a post of Argentina’s Olympic team in the training ground. Below the post, he wrote a caption, “Más que nunca con ustedes! Pueden contra todoS,” which as translated by DeepL, means, “More than ever with you! You can do it against everyone [Blue and white heart emoji].”

De Paul indicates that despite the challenges preventing Argentina from winning, the young squad, along with a few veterans, has the backing of the Atlético Madrid midfielder. The 30-year-old is motivating the Olympians to bounce back from the adversities they faced today and eventually pave their way to glory. But exactly transpired during Argentina’s opening group stage fixture.

Argentina was down by two goals but luckily, substitute Giuliano Simeone broke the deadlock near the 60-minute mark. As Argentina pressed for another goal, the referee added 15 minutes of stoppage time. Cristian Medina managed to score the equalizer, but the celebration was cut short as Moroccan fans invaded the pitch and threw firecrackers at the players.

Surprisingly, the match was halted for over an hour before both teams returned to the field, only for Medina’s late goal to be ruled offside. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only predicament that Mascherano’s side faced!

Fellow Argentinian compatriot of Rodrigo De Paul gets robbed during Paris Olympics!

Javier Mascherano disclosed that star player Thiago Almada was robbed during a training session before the opening group stage match. Although the Argentine team initially wanted to keep the incident under wraps, the Barcelona legend eventually spoke about it in the post-match press conference. “Yesterday they entered training and robbed us. Thiago Almada was missing a watch and rings. In training at the Olympic Games… We didn’t want to say anything, but that’s it. It’s no use,” he said.

Expressing his disappointment over the incident, Mascherano emphasized the importance of winning the next two games against Ukraine and Iraq to secure their place in the knockout rounds. This is because Iraq also secured a similar victory over Ukraine, joining Morocco with three points. The upcoming matches are indeed a do-or-die situation for Mascherano’s side. As for the theft incident, the revelation might prompt an investigation by the authorities.