Paris Olympics: France Returns To Finals After 40 Years
La Liga: Yamal and Flick Nominated for La Liga August Awards
Get your Premier League tickets at Exo Tickets to witness Barcelona's rising star Lamine Yamal and coach Hansi Flick in ...
International Football: Scott McTominay Shines, Scotland to Rebuild
Get your Premier League tickets at Exo Tickets to experience the live atmosphere. McTominay's goal-scoring form for Scotland is unmatched.
International Football: Cristiano Ronaldo's 901st Goal Sinks Scotland
Get your Premier League tickets now at Exo Tickets, the UK's deluxe source. Experience the live atmosphere of the game!
Hosts France will play in an Olympic men's football final for the first time in 40 years after beating Egypt 3-1 in extra time at the Lyon stadium on Monday. They will face Spain for the gold medal.
France made a dramatic comeback after Egypt's Mahmoud Saber scored a stunning goal to give his team the lead. Jean-Philippe Mateta leveled the score with a late strike. Mateta added another goal before Michael Olise sealed the victory in extra time, propelling Thierry Henry's side to a historic final at Parc des Princes against Spain, who defeated Morocco 2-1 earlier.
"What a night! All credit to the players. Egypt were really good today but we never stopped going after the win, and the fans pushed us forward," said coach Henry. "We have secured a medal now, but we have one more step to go to win our first football gold medal after 40 years. Now Spain await us in the final, and it's going to be a big game."
Egypt, playing in their third Olympic semi-final, dominated the first half with more shots on goal before Saber capitalized on a rebound to score in the 62nd minute. France, who hit the woodwork three times throughout the match, equalized when Mateta finally found the net seven minutes from time after an Olise pass sliced through Egypt's defense.
Egypt went down to 10 men early in extra time when Omar Fayed received a second yellow card for a foul on Desire Doue. Mateta then scored again with a towering header in the 99th minute to put France ahead.
"This was the night of my dreams," Mateta said. "But I need one more night now to keep dreaming. This is for the fans; they kept chanting even after we went behind in the score."
Olise added a goal three minutes into the second half of extra time to secure the win, sending Egypt to the bronze-medal match against confederation rivals Morocco in Nantes on Thursday.