The Olympic men’s football final is now scheduled for Friday, with hosts France and Spain booking their place in the Paris Games final by coming from one goal down to win. La Roja fought back to get past Morocco 2-1 in Marseille, while Les Bleus also fell behind to Egypt before coming out on top 3-1 after extra time. The Spaniards now have the chance to add Olympic gold to their UEFA Euro 2024 and UEFA under-19 Euro successes this summer. The Atlas Lions and the Pharaohs can still take home bronze in the third-place match, but neither can match Spain’s footballing renaissance, nor the strength of France’s support at home, as a date in the capital continues to comes more into view.
Results of the Olympic semi-finals
Morocco 1, Spain 2
France 3, Egypt 1 (after extra time)
France 3, Egypt 1 (after extra time)
The home country had to do what they should not have done throughout the tournament, namely come from behind to win after Egypt took the lead after 62 minutes in Lyon through Mahmoud Saber. Fortunately for Thierry Henry, Jean-Philippe Mateta has come into form in the knockout stages, scoring his third Olympic goal after 83 minutes following another assist from Michael Olise – his fourth of the tournament. A late penalty for France was ruled out thanks to a lengthy VAR check, but Les Bleus’ task was made easier in extra time when the Egyptians had Omar Fayed sent off for a second yellow card at the Groupama Stadium. Mateta was the hero again as he put the French 2-1 ahead after Olise’s ball found its way to the Crystal Palace man for his fourth goal in five games through Killiann Sildillia. It wasn’t even a direct assist, despite Bayern Munich’s new player being the architect again, but Olise made it six goals so far with his second goal at the Paris Games late in the closing stages, putting him in last place of the Parc des Princes for the hosts.
Morocco 1, Spain 2: La Roja assured of a medal
What a wonderful summer 2024 this will be for Spanish football. After UEFA Euro 2024 and the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Spain now find themselves in an Olympic final, with only France or Egypt between them and a gold medal. At one point it didn’t look like this would be the case, when Morocco led 1-0 after 37 minutes Soufiane Rahimi’s penalty for his sixth goal of the tournament, meaning he has scored at least once in every match in France so far. The Atlas Lions Games in Paris are not over yet and the 28-year-old could add to his tally in the bronze medal match, but it will have been crushing for the Moroccans to see Spain recover in the second half. First of all, Fermin Lopez leveled the score after 66 minutes before hiring a provider as a replacement Juanlu Sánchez scored the winning goal five minutes before time. Despite ten minutes of extra time in the Stade Velodrome, Tarik Sektioui’s men fell painfully short when a potential final against France in Paris beckoned.
