Paris Olympics: France to meet Spain in men’s football final
Paris: France will face Spain in the men’s football final at Paris 2024, after they rallied to beat 10-man Egypt 3-1 after extra-time late on Monday.
Jean-Philippe Mateta, who had netted the winner in France’s 1-0 win over Argentina in the quarterfinal, scored a brace in the semifinal.
After a goalless first half, Egypt broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute through defender Saber Mahmoud who had a shot blocked, but collected the rebound and beat two defenders before firing home, reports Xinhua.
Mahmoud’s strike jolted France into action. Their relentless attack paid off in the 83rd minute when Mateta raced onto Michael Olise’s through-ball and drove it past the helpless Egypt goalkeeper Alaa Hamza.
With the score 1-1 after 90 minutes, the game moved into extra-time, and Egypt suffered a major blow when defender Fayed Omar was sent off for a second yellow card just two minutes into the first period.
With a man advantage, France went 2-1 up in the 99th minute through Mateta’s powerful header, before Olise wrapped up the win for the hosts in the 108th minute with a shot from the edge of the box.
France, who recorded 31 shots against Egypt’s 15, also hit the woodwork three times.
In the other semifinal, Spain came back from one goal down to beat Morocco 2-1.
Fermin Lopez, who contributed a brace in Spain’s 3-0 quarterfinal win over Japan, was his side’s hero once again, as he scored one and assisted the other in the semifinal.
Spain found themselves 1-0 behind in the 37th minute when Morocco forward Soufiane Rahimi converted a penalty kick.
In the 66th minute, they equalized through Lopez, who drove home a low shot inside the box. Defender Juanlu Sanchez scored the winner in the 85th minute after he latched onto Lopez’s pass and put the ball into the far corner.
