The France vs Spain football match in the Paris 2024 Olympics men’s final will take place at the Parc des Princes and will begin at 2:00 AM AEST on Saturday.
In 37 previous meetings between the two international teams, Spain have the most wins, with 17; France have 13, with seven draws.
France, Olympic champions at Los Angeles 1984, are arriving in the final after beating Egypt 3-1 in extra time. Les Bleus went behind to a Mahmoud Saber goal in the second half before Jean-Phillippe Mateta scored seven minutes before the end to restore parity and force extra-time.
Mateta grabbed his second goal of the night to put France ahead nine minutes into extra time while Michael Olise scored in the 108th minute to confirm their final berth. Les Bleus will enjoy overwhelming support in front of home fans at the Stade de France in search of their third Olympic men’s football medal.
They had also won the silver medal at Paris 1900. On that occasion, however, only two matches were held with Great Britain winning the gold.
France had previously beaten Argentina in a fiercely-contested quarter-final with Mateta scoring in the fifth minute. They won all three group-stage fixtures against the United States of America, New Zealand and Guinea before advancing to the knockout rounds.
In-form Spain believes it can end a 32-year wait for an Olympic gold in men’s football when it faces host France in final at the Parc des Princes.
Spain coach Santi Denia says his team is aware it is in the perfect position to secure the missing piece from its glittering trophy cabinet.
“We are delighted that we are a benchmark in Europe and the world, it is a job that has been done for years,” coach Denia told a news conference.
Captain Abel Ruiz echoed his coach words adding is a motivation for the under 23 team having not seen Spain’s title back in 1992 at the Barcelona Games.
“We are motivated, we know that (the gold) is something very important for the country and for us,” Ruiz said.
Spain, winners on home soil at Barcelona 1992, are arriving into the final after beating Morocco 2-1 in the semis. Like France, Spain also had to come from behind after conceding a penalty from Soufiane Rahimi in the first half. Youngster Fermin Lopez brought them level with a superb strike before Juanlu Sanchez secured victory just five minutes before the end of the match.
La Roja have also finished runners-up thrice and this will be their second consecutive Olympic men’s football final. They had lost 2-1 to Brazil in the men’s gold medal match at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Spain blanked Japan 3-0 in the quarter-finals with a brace from Fermin while Abel Ruiz also got on the scoresheet. Their only loss at Paris 2024 came against Egypt in the group stage. A brace from Ibrahim Adel saw Spain suffer a 2-1 loss.
Earlier, hosts France will play 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 and will face Spain for the gold medal.
France fought back after conceding their first goal in the tournament when Mahmoud Saber grabbed a stunning lead for Egypt before Jean-Philippe Mateta levelled with a late strike.
Mateta got a double before Michael Olise scored in extra time to earn Thierry Henry’s side the victory and extend their quest for a second Olympic title in Friday’s final at Parc des Princes against Spain, who earlier beat Morocco 2-1.
In the first semi-final, Spain beat Morocco by 2-1. The 2020 silver medallists fell behind in the first half of the semi-final after tournament top scorer Soufiane Rahimi converted a penalty for his sixth goal at the Games. Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez equalised midway through the second half in Marseille after pouncing on a loose ball in the penalty area.
