LYON, France, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Fermin Lopez scored a brace to help Spain crush Japan 3-0 in the men's football quarterfinal at the Paris Olympics here on Friday.
In the semifinal, Spain will take on Morocco who claimed a 4-0 victory over the United States in an earlier kickoff of the day.
Lopez put the Spanish side into lead in the 11th minute with a powerful shot. The Barcelona midfielder scored again in the 73rd minute when he trapped the ball with his chest before driving it past Japanese goalkeeper Leobrian Kokubo.
Forward Abel Ruiz put the icing on the cake for Spain on 86 minutes with a goal he scored connecting a corner kick.
Japan created several good chances throughout the match. In the 42nd minute, they came close through forward Mao Hosoya who shook off the opposition defender Pau Cubarsi, turned around and fired the ball past the Spanish goalkeeper Arnau Tenas -- only to see the goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR check.
Japan pulled off a threatening attack with four minutes into the injury time of the first half, as Hosoya hit the post with a header.
In the 88th minute, Japan hit the woodwork again when Ayumu Ohata's header rattled the crossbar.
