(Dan Tri) - Host France defeated Egypt 3-1 while Olympic Spain defeated Morocco 2-1 in the semi-finals on the night of August 5. The two European football powers will face off in the men's football final of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Hosts France were rated higher than Egypt in the semi-finals, however, in the first minutes, the two teams played tit for tat, creating many opportunities but could not take advantage. After 60 minutes of play, the score was still 0-0. Egypt made the difference in the 62nd minute when Mahmoud Saber's decisive kick with great force gave no chance to goalkeeper Restes, opening the score 1-0 for the African representative.
Playing with one more player helped the French Olympic team beat Egypt in extra time (Photo: Getty).
The host team France pushed their squad to attack and there were times when it felt hopeless. However, in the 83rd minute, Mateta rushed forward very quickly and finished decisively to equalize for the French Olympic team. The European representative demanded a penalty at the end of the match, but after reviewing the VAR technology, the referee refused. The two teams entered extra time, in the 92nd minute, Omar Fayed of Egypt received a second yellow card and had to leave the field early. Having one more player helped France easily launch their attack and in the 99th minute, Mateta completed his double to help France lead 2-1. Egypt was almost powerless to attack and in the 108th minute, Olise with a close-range finish helped France lead 3-1. The European representative played calmly at the end of the match and preserved the victory to enter the final of the men's football event at the Paris 2024 Olympics. French Olympic squad : Restes, Sildillia, Bade, Lukeba, Truffert, Akliouche, Diouf, Chotard, Olise, Lacazette, Mateta Goals: Mateta 83' - 99', Olise 108' Egyptian Olympic : Alaa, Fayed, Abdelmeguid, Saber, El-Debes, Elneny, Shehata, Koka, Zizo, Faisal, Adel Goal: Saber 62' In the second semi-final, Morocco showed a solid and annoying style of play like they did against Argentina in the group stage. The African representative took the lead in the 37th minute after Rahimi's successful penalty in the 34th minute. In the second half, Olympic Morocco tried their best to defend but they still conceded a goal in the 66th minute. Fermin Lopez took advantage of the opponent's defender's indecisive clearance to shoot into the near corner, equalizing 1-1 for Spain.
Spain Olympic team has reached the Olympic men's football final for the second consecutive time (Photo: Getty).
The two teams played fiercely in the following period. In the 83rd minute, Morocco had a good chance to score but Rahimi finished too slowly. In the situation right after that, defender Juanlu Sanchez suddenly entered the penalty area and then shot diagonally, giving the Moroccan goalkeeper no chance to block. The little time left was not enough for the African representative to turn the game around, the only chance they created was Hakimi's shot over the bar in the 89th minute. Spain maintained the 2-1 victory and they entered the Olympic men's football final for the second consecutive time. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Spain lost to Brazil in the final and they are determined to change the color of the medal when they meet host France in this year's final. The last time Spain won an Olympic football gold medal was in Barcelona in 1992. Morocco Olympic squad : El Kajoui, Hakimi, Boukamir, El Azzouzi, El Ouahdi, Targhalline, Richardson, Akhomach, Ben Seghir, Ezzalzouli, Rahimi Goal: Rahimi 37' Spain Olympic squad : Tenas, Pubill, Cubarsi, Garcia, Miranda, Barrios, Baena, Oroz, Fermin Lopez, Gomez, Ruiz Goal: Fermin Lopez 66', Sanchez 85'
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