Uzbekistan lost the match but won over the crowd on Wednesday as competition at the Paris Olympics officially began with football matches in Paris and Saint-Etienne.
Uzbekistan fans chanted and danced throughout a 2-1 defeat to Spain, to the rhythm of a furiously fast drum beat at Parc des Princes in western Paris once the home of French striker Kylian Mbapp when he played for Paris Saint-Germain.
Toward the end of the game, they encouraged large sections of the crowd to clap in unison with their hands raised above their heads, in the style of the Viking Thunder Clap first introduced by Iceland fans at the 2016 European Championship, held in France.
There was also an Uzbek version of the popular soccer song Don't Take Me Home accompanied by increasingly fast drumming.
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The honour of kicking off the game went to Uzbekistan captain Eldor Shomurodov, who played for Italian side Cagliari in Serie A last season.
The 29-year-old Shomurodov passed the ball back to a teammate and then applauded. FIFA President Gianni Infantino met players before the game.
The first goal of the Paris Games was scored by Spain right-back Marc Pubill in the 29th minute. Shomurodov equalized with a penalty late in the first half for his 41st international goal, drawing wild celebrations from Uzbekistan fans.
Argentina, playing without Lionel Messi in these Games, also got the ball rolling at 3 pm against Morocco in Saint-tienne at Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium.
It is nicknamed Le Chaudron (The Cauldron) for the fervent atmosphere created by passionate supporters of the local club.
Fans of Morocco and Argentina mingled outside and two Argentina fans held up a flag with a photo of the late Diego Maradona on it, along with the words El Pibe de Oro (the Golden Kid) the affectionate nickname fans called the 1986 World Cup winner.
The game ended 2-2, with striker Soufiane Rahimi scoring twice for Morocco. After the first goal, he was joined by his teammates as they knelt in a prayer pose. Cristian Medina equalized for Argentina in the 16th minute of stoppage time.
There was a joyful atmosphere in the streets leading to Parc des Princes, near where Olympic tennis will be played at Roland Garros, home of the French Open.
Around 150 Uzbekistan fans met outside Porte d'Auteuil subway station, waving flags, singing songs and beating a drum as they walked to the stadium accompanied by a light police presence.
Uzbekistan fans, perched on the upper tier of the Boulogne section behind one of the goals, made the most noise and started chanting even more loudly immediately after Pubill pounced from close range at the other end to put Spain ahead.
A section of Uzbekistan fans near the touchline danced and chanted Uz-bek-is-tan to the sound of the intensely fast drum beat for several minutes at the start of the second half.
They made a huge noise when goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov saved Sergio Gomez's penalty with his legs. He was beaten a few minutes later by Gomez's low shot.
Security was set to be much higher outside the same stadium on Wednesday night when Israel played Mali in Group D amid ongoing tensions in Gaza.
Eight soccer matches were scheduled for Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony. The rugby sevens also had 12 matches Wednesday, starting at 3:30 pm, with Australia beating Samoa 21-14 at Stade de France, the national stadium, before host France drew 12-12 with the United States.