France snatches place in Olympic tournament final after extra-time win over Egypt

Trailing until the 83rd minute, Thierry Henry’s players pushed to come back and were freed (3-1 ap) by Jean-Philippe Mateta, author of two of the three French goals.

They have assumed their ambition of gold from the beginning, and they were right. The Blues will fight for the most beautiful of medals even if, as with any quest for the Grail, it would be too easy to get there without suffering. Winners in pain over Egypt (3-1 ap), in the semi-finals of the Olympic football tournament, Alexandre Lacazette and his teammates went through all the emotions on Monday, August 5.

VVirtually eliminated until the 83rd minute, they drew on the annoyance caused by Egypt’s opening goal on the counterattack, scored by Mahmoud Saber Abdelmohsen (62nd). After putting pressure on the Egyptian goal for long minutes, they were rewarded for their efforts by Jean-Philippe Mateta’s equaliser. The Crystal Palace striker was found in an ideal position in the box by the inevitable Michael Olise, author of his fourth assist of the tournament at the end of a masterful recovery of the ball.

We must recognize the great merit of Thierry Henry’s protégés for never getting discouraged. Efficiency not coming to them, they ended up provoking it after hitting the posts three times, twice for Loïc Badé alone (40th, 75th). The arm wrestling, which did not lean to either side in the first 45 minutes, never again tipped in the Egyptian direction after the opening score. Patience was required.

A lengthy VAR intervention in the final minutes of added time for a possible penalty for an Egyptian handball raised hopes of a happy ending before extra time. But, the two teams remained locked at 1-1. Regardless, the Blues felt that they would eventually get the better of their opponent, who stopped offering anything after scoring.

After just two minutes of extra time, Egypt were sent off for a late tackle by Omar Fayed on substitute Désiré Doué, who had just dribbled past three opponents on the wing. All that was missing was a moment of play to finally score the goal that would make all the difference. Michael Olise, once again in charge, sent a diving cross for Kiliann Sildillia, whose pass allowed Jean-Philippe Mateta to finish with a header (99th).

We were expecting Alexandre Lacazette, the captain, the star of OL, the top scorer in the history of the Groupama Stadium (64 goals) and it was another former Lyon hopeful (from 2016 to 2018) who took all the spotlight. His second goal gave the final blow to the exhausted Egyptians. But the eccentric Désiré Doué and Michael Olise still had appetite. The former tore himself away from the pressure and involuntarily became the decisive passer for the latter, who scored in a pivot (108th).

Thierry Henry and his “madmen”, as he likes to call them, are in the final of the Olympic tournament. On Friday, they will challenge Spain at the Parc des Princes (6pm) in a clash that looks like a revenge of the last Euro, with the hope of imitating their glorious predecessors from the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.