diff --git a/bfd/archive.c b/bfd/archive.c
index be96bb25759..16b725b9958 100644
--- a/bfd/archive.c
+++ b/bfd/archive.c
@@ -950,8 +950,8 @@ bfd_generic_archive_p (bfd *abfd)
       if (first != NULL)
 	{
 	  first->target_defaulted = false;
-	  if (bfd_check_format (first, bfd_object)
-	      && first->xvec != abfd->xvec)
+	  if (!bfd_check_format (first, bfd_object)
+	      || first->xvec != abfd->xvec)
 	    bfd_set_error (bfd_error_wrong_object_format);
 	  bfd_close (first);
 	}
diff --git a/bfd/format.c b/bfd/format.c
index b74c6240f23..4dbe863e742 100644
--- a/bfd/format.c
+++ b/bfd/format.c
@@ -513,38 +513,47 @@ bfd_check_format_matches (bfd *abfd, bfd_format format, char ***matching)
   if (!bfd_preserve_save (abfd, &preserve, NULL))
     goto err_ret;
 
-  /* If the target type was explicitly specified, just check that target.  */
+  /* First try matching the current target.  The current target may
+     have been set due to a user option, or due to the linker trying
+     optimistically to load input files for the same target as the
+     output, or due to the plugin support setting "plugin", or failing
+     any of those bfd_find_target will have chosen a default target.
+     target_defaulted will be set in the last case, or when "plugin"
+     is the target (even if chosen by user option).  Note that
+     bfd_plugin_no excluding the plugin target condition is an
+     optimisation, and can be removed if desired.  */
   fail_targ = NULL;
-  if (!abfd->target_defaulted
 #if BFD_SUPPORTS_PLUGINS
-      && !(abfd->plugin_format == bfd_plugin_no
-	   && bfd_plugin_target_p (save_targ))
+  if (!(abfd->plugin_format == bfd_plugin_no
+	&& bfd_plugin_target_p (save_targ)))
 #endif
-      )
     {
-      if (bfd_seek (abfd, 0, SEEK_SET) != 0)	/* rewind! */
+      if (bfd_seek (abfd, 0, SEEK_SET) != 0)
 	goto err_ret;
 
+      bfd_set_error (bfd_error_no_error);
       cleanup = BFD_SEND_FMT (abfd, _bfd_check_format, (abfd));
-
       if (cleanup)
-	goto ok_ret;
-
-      /* For a long time the code has dropped through to check all
-	 targets if the specified target was wrong.  I don't know why,
-	 and I'm reluctant to change it.  However, in the case of an
-	 archive, it can cause problems.  If the specified target does
-	 not permit archives (e.g., the binary target), then we should
-	 not allow some other target to recognize it as an archive, but
-	 should instead allow the specified target to recognize it as an
-	 object.  When I first made this change, it broke the PE target,
-	 because the specified pei-i386 target did not recognize the
-	 actual pe-i386 archive.  Since there may be other problems of
-	 this sort, I changed this test to check only for the binary
-	 target.  */
-      if (format == bfd_archive && save_targ == &binary_vec)
-	goto err_unrecog;
-      fail_targ = save_targ;
+	{
+	  if (abfd->format != bfd_archive
+	      /* An archive with object files matching the archive
+		 target is OK.  Other archives should be further
+		 tested.  */
+	      || (bfd_has_map (abfd)
+		  && bfd_get_error () != bfd_error_wrong_object_format)
+	      /* Empty archives can match the current target.
+		 Attempting to read the armap will result in a file
+		 truncated error.  */
+	      || (!bfd_has_map (abfd)
+		  && bfd_get_error () == bfd_error_file_truncated))
+	    goto ok_ret;
+	}
+      else
+	{
+	  if (!abfd->target_defaulted && !abfd->is_linker_input)
+	    goto err_unrecog;
+	  fail_targ = save_targ;
+	}
     }
 
   /* Check all targets in the hope that one will be recognized.  */
@@ -606,6 +615,7 @@ bfd_check_format_matches (bfd *abfd, bfd_format format, char ***matching)
       if (bfd_seek (abfd, 0, SEEK_SET) != 0)
 	goto err_ret;
 
+      bfd_set_error (bfd_error_no_error);
       cleanup = BFD_SEND_FMT (abfd, _bfd_check_format, (abfd));
       if (cleanup)
 	{
diff --git a/bfd/targets.c b/bfd/targets.c
index c2ee9179f37..a7b0450a005 100644
--- a/bfd/targets.c
+++ b/bfd/targets.c
@@ -1572,7 +1572,11 @@ bfd_find_target (const char *target_name, bfd *abfd)
     }
 
   if (abfd)
-    abfd->target_defaulted = false;
+    /* Treating "plugin" specially here is due to the fact that some
+       of the binutils magically supply a "plugin" target.  That
+       really is a defaulted target, but unfortunately we can't
+       distinguish it from a user supplied "plugin" target.  */
+    abfd->target_defaulted = strcmp (targname, "plugin") == 0;
 
   target = find_target (targname);
   if (target == NULL)
diff --git a/binutils/bucomm.h b/binutils/bucomm.h
index 8b41d42f5f0..54f54d74286 100644
--- a/binutils/bucomm.h
+++ b/binutils/bucomm.h
@@ -94,9 +94,8 @@ set_plugin_target (bfd *abfd, const struct bfd_target *targ)
   if (abfd->my_archive && targ)
     {
       abfd->xvec = targ;
-      /* Arrange for the plugin target to be tried first in
-	 bfd_check_format.  */
-      abfd->target_defaulted = false;
+      /* Don't fail if the element isn't recognised by the plugin.  */
+      abfd->target_defaulted = true;
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/binutils/testsuite/binutils-all/aarch64/pei-aarch64-little.d b/binutils/testsuite/binutils-all/aarch64/pei-aarch64-little.d
index 27cb6e17db3..22f664929c5 100644
--- a/binutils/testsuite/binutils-all/aarch64/pei-aarch64-little.d
+++ b/binutils/testsuite/binutils-all/aarch64/pei-aarch64-little.d
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #skip: aarch64_be-*-*
 #ld: -e0
 #PROG: objcopy
-#objcopy: -j .text -j .sdata -j .data -j .dynamic -j .dynsym -j .rel -j .rela -j .rel.* -j .rela.* -j .rel* -j .rela* -j .reloc --target=efi-app-aarch64
+#objcopy: -j .text -j .sdata -j .data -j .dynamic -j .dynsym -j .rel -j .rela -j .rel.* -j .rela.* -j .rel* -j .rela* -j .reloc --output-target=efi-app-aarch64
 #objdump: -h -f
 #name: Check if efi app format is recognized
 
diff --git a/binutils/testsuite/binutils-all/loongarch64/pei-loongarch64.d b/binutils/testsuite/binutils-all/loongarch64/pei-loongarch64.d
index 574b3e5448d..61b026d59ca 100644
--- a/binutils/testsuite/binutils-all/loongarch64/pei-loongarch64.d
+++ b/binutils/testsuite/binutils-all/loongarch64/pei-loongarch64.d
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #ld: -e0
 #PROG: objcopy
-#objcopy: -j .text -j .sdata -j .data -j .dynamic -j .dynsym -j .rel -j .rela -j .rel.* -j .rela.* -j .rel* -j .rela* -j .reloc --target=pei-loongarch64
+#objcopy: -j .text -j .sdata -j .data -j .dynamic -j .dynsym -j .rel -j .rela -j .rel.* -j .rela.* -j .rel* -j .rela* -j .reloc --output-target=pei-loongarch64
 #objdump: -h -f
 #name: Check if efi app format is recognized
 
diff --git a/binutils/testsuite/binutils-all/riscv/pei-riscv64.d b/binutils/testsuite/binutils-all/riscv/pei-riscv64.d
index 189b0162ba5..43164147c3d 100644
--- a/binutils/testsuite/binutils-all/riscv/pei-riscv64.d
+++ b/binutils/testsuite/binutils-all/riscv/pei-riscv64.d
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #as: -march=rv64gc -mabi=lp64d
 #ld: -m elf64lriscv -e0
 #PROG: objcopy
-#objcopy: -j .text -j .sdata -j .data -j .dynamic -j .dynsym -j .rel -j .rela -j .rel.* -j .rela.* -j .rel* -j .rela* -j .reloc --target=pei-riscv64-little
+#objcopy: -j .text -j .sdata -j .data -j .dynamic -j .dynsym -j .rel -j .rela -j .rel.* -j .rela.* -j .rel* -j .rela* -j .reloc --output-target=pei-riscv64-little
 #objdump: -h -f
 #name: Check if efi app format is recognized