France beats Egypt 3-1 to face Spain in men’s football final at Paris Olympics
Lyon, France — Thierry Henry stood with his arms outstretched, facing the cheering crowd and soaking up the atmosphere.
The final of the men’s football tournament in Paris Olympic Games was in sight after France were pushed to their limits by Egypt in the semi-final on Monday at the Stade de Lyon.
Jean-Philippe Mateta, meanwhile, was mobbed by his teammates after scoring his second goal in a 3-1 win that sets up a final against Spain at the Parc des Princes on Friday.
“It was like, I don’t know how to say it, it was amazing,” Mateta said.
France versus Spain means there will be a European gold medallist at the Olympics for the first time in 32 years.
The host nation’s place in the final looked seriously compromised as Egypt moved closer to an upset after taking the lead through Mahmoud Saber’s 62nd-minute goal.
France had already hit the target three times before Mateta equalised in the 83rd minute and sent the match into extra time.
His second goal came in the 99th and Michael Olise added France’s third in the 108th.
“It’s not easy, is it? We knew that. But at the end of the day we kept going. We kept trying. We kept creating chances from the wings and trying to play and we were rewarded,” said France coach Henry.
While it secures gold for a European team for the first time since Spain won in Barcelona in 1992, it also ends the dominance of Latin American nations after the last five editions of the tournament have seen victories for Brazil and Argentina – two each – and Mexico.
It also gives Henry the opportunity to complete his prestigious career, having won the World Cup and European Championship with France as a player.
It would be his first major honour in a coaching career that is still in its infancy.
“I’m not there yet. We have the medal, that’s for sure. Let’s not talk about the gold,” he said.
France won its only Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles in 1984 and also won silver at the Paris Games in 1900.
Henry’s team, one of the tournament favourites, had qualified for the semi-finals with a perfect record, having collected maximum points in the group stage and beaten Argentina in the quarter-finals.
But Egypt had already proven they could defy the odds by beating Spain to top their group. And they came so close to another surprise victory when Saber fired a shot past French goalkeeper Guillaume Restes.
At that point, Loïc Bade had already hit the foot of the post with a header in the first half.
The Egyptian goal sparked a reaction from French fans, who roared loudly in an attempt to boost their team’s morale.
Egypt goalkeeper Alaa Hamza pushed away a close-range shot from Alexandre Lacazette. France hit the target twice in the space of seconds, when Lacazette hit the foot of the post with a header and Bade hit the bar with a subsequent header.
The equaliser finally came when Olise broke through midfield and slipped a pass into Mateta’s run.
As Hamza moved forward to narrow the angle, Mateta was the first to reach the ball and scored.
France thought they had won a penalty in stoppage time when VAR checked for a handball by Omar Fayed.
Referee Said Martinez spent an agonising amount of time examining the touchline monitor before finally determining that there had been a foul in the build-up.
Although it was a reprieve for Egypt and sent the match into extra time, Fayed was sent off in the 92nd minute, having been booked during heated scenes as the potential penalty was being reviewed.
France took advantage of the numerical advantage and took the lead thanks to Mateta’s second goal of the match.
Once again Olise was at the heart of the action, sending the ball into the box for Kiliann Sildillia to head towards goal. Mateta got up and headed the ball past Alaa.
Olise then scored his own goal with a low first-time left-footed shot from inside the area.
“We showed the team that we have character, and we showed the fans and everyone that we have character,” Mateta said. “We can believe that we can score, and we do.”
Egypt, who have finished fourth twice – Amsterdam 1928 and Tokyo 1964 – will face Morocco in an all-African bronze medal match in Nantes on Thursday.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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