PARIS, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Japan will join Spain in the men's football quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics after they beat Mali 1-0 in their group encounter on Saturday.
Midfielder Rihito Yamamoto scored the winner in the 82nd minute for Japan. Mali were awarded a penalty in stoppage time, but forward Moussa Diakite missed his effort.
In the day's earlier kick-off, Spain defeated the 10-man Dominican Republic 3-1 in a lopsided game.
Spain, who had beaten Uzbekistan 2-1 on Wednesday in their first Group C game, opened the scoring in the 24th minute through midfielder Fermin Lopez.
The Dominican Republic leveled things up with their only effort on target in the 38th minute, when Angel Montes headed home from a corner.
Seven minutes later, Dominican Republic forward Edison Azcona was sent off for kicking Spain's Pau Cubarsi in the groin.
Spain, who registered nine shots on target throughout the game, scored twice in the second half through Alex Baena in the 55th minute and Miguel Gutierrez 15 minutes later.
With both teams having won their two games so far, Spain and Japan have qualified for the knockout stages with one group game still to play.
France met stiff resistance from Guinea in their 1-0 win. Kiliann Sildillia scored the only goal for the hosts in the 76th minute, finishing off from Michael Olise's assist.
Argentina recovered from a 2-1 loss to Morocco to beat Iraq 3-1. Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez played a key role with two assists for Argentina, who needed a win to kick-start their campaign.
The South American side took the lead in the 13th minute when midfielder Thiago Almada drove a pass from Alvarez past Iraq goalkeeper Hasan Hussein.
Iraq equalized in first-half injury time through Hussein Aymen, who headed in a cross from the left.
Argentina head coach Javier Mascherano took off underperforming midfielder Santiago Hezze and sent in Luciano Gondou in the 60th minute, and the substitute made an instant impression, heading home to make it 2-1 for Argentina just two minutes later.
In the 85th minute, Alvarez's pass found the well-positioned Ezequiel Fernandez, who fired home a stunning drive.
In the day's other matches, Ukraine beat Morocco 2-1, Paraguay scored twice in stoppage time to beat Israel 4-2, the United States thrashed New Zealand 4-1, and Egypt beat Uzbekistan 1-0, ending the central Asian side's hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage. ■
