As they aim for Olympic gold at the Paris 2024 Games, host nation France will face off against neighboring Spain in the football final at Parc des Princes on Friday.
After both teams overcame North African challengers to secure their spots in the final, they now compete for the chance to stand atop the podium for just the second time in their history.
Following an intense quarter-final victory over Argentina, France, led by Thierry Henry, find themselves one match away from a place in the Olympic final, as they seek their country's first football gold since 1984.
It took two goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta to spark a comeback and defeat a 10-man Egypt in Lyon, as Les Bleus nearly missed out and were close to being relegated to a bronze-medal playoff.
Mateta’s late equalizer, assisted by a pass from Michael Olise, was not the first time this summer that the former Crystal Palace teammates had combined forces. The towering striker then put the hosts ahead nine minutes into extra time with a header.
Olise later secured victory with a goal of his own, ensuring France’s first football medal in 40 years. However, the highly ambitious coach Henry is now determined to add one of the few accolades missing from his illustrious career.
Spain, who were the 1992 Olympic champions at home, advanced to the gold medal match in Sydney 2000 and are currently attempting to improve on their disappointing defeat to Brazil in Japan three years prior, where they had to settle for silver once more.
Lopez and Alex Baena will be riding high heading into another big final, where all the expectations will be on their eager hosts. Both players contributed to La Roja's success at Euro 2024.
Again, Jean-Philippe Mateta should have the assistance of France's captain Alexandre Lacazette and primary creator Michael Olise up front. Thierry Henry's squad may play almost the same lineup for Friday's gold-medal final.
The former World and European champion led his team to victory in all their group matches at these Games, scoring seven goals and maintaining three clean sheets, with only one goal conceded so far.
Eager to add to France's gold haul in Paris, they will be highly motivated for Friday's final, but their opponents are just as determined to continue Spain's successful year.
Looking to emulate the senior squad's triumph in Germany last month, Spain's Olympic team has reached the final in remarkable style, suffering their only loss when a heavily rotated team played the last group match.
La Roja smoothly advanced past Japan in the quarter-finals, leading to a semi-final encounter with Morocco on Monday. Despite trailing with less than 30 minutes remaining and facing a predominantly pro-Moroccan crowd in Marseille, they demonstrated their resilience.
Santi Denia's squad mounted a determined comeback, with Barcelona's Fermin Lopez equalizing in the 66th minute and then assisting substitute Juanlu Sanchez to score a late winning goal.
