LYON – Thierry Henry stood with his arms outstretched, facing the jubilant crowd and soaking up the atmosphere.
The final of the men’s soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics was in sight after France had been pushed to the limit by Egypt in Monday's semifinal at Stade de Lyon.
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Jean-Philippe Mateta, meanwhile, was being mobbed by his teammates after scoring his second goal in a 3-1 win that sets up a final against Spain at Parc des Princes on Friday.
“It was like, I don’t know how to say — it was incredible,” Mateta said.
France vs. Spain means there will be a European gold medalist at the Olympics for the first time in 32 years.
The host nation's place in the final looked in serious doubt as Egypt was closing in on an upset after leading through Mahmoud Saber’s 62nd-minute goal.
France had hit the frame of the goal on three occasions before Mateta equalized in the 83rd and sent the game into extra time.
His second came in the 99th and Michael Olise added France's third in the 108th.
“It’s not easy, right? We knew that. But at the end of the day, we kept on coming. We kept on trying. We kept on creating from the wing and trying to play and we got our reward,” France coach Henry said.
While this ensures gold for a European team for the first time since Spain’s victory at Barcelona 1992, it also ends the dominance of Latin American nations after the last five editions of the tournament saw victories for Brazil and Argentina — two each — and Mexico.
It also gives Henry the chance to added to his storied career, having won the World Cup and European Championship with France as a player.
This would be his first major honor in a coaching career that is still early in its development.
“I’m not there yet. We have the medal, that’s for sure. Let’s not talk about the gold,” he said.
France’s only Olympic gold came at Los Angeles 1984 and it also took silver when the Games were held in Paris in 1900.
One of the pre-tournament favorites, Henry's team had gone into the semifinal with a perfect winning record, having taken maximum points in the group phase and beaten Argentina in the quarterfinals.
But Egypt had already proved capable of upsetting the odds by beating Spain to top its group. And it came so close to another surprise win when Saber flashed a shot past France goalkeeper Guillaume Restes.
By that point, Loic Bade had already headed against the foot of the post in the first half.
Egypt’s goal sparked a reaction from the French fans, who roared loudly to try to lift their team.
Egypt keeper Alaa Hamza denied Alexandre Lacazette from point blank range. France hit the frame of the goal twice more in the space of seconds when Lacazette headed against the foot of the post and Bade hit the bar with a follow up header.
The equalizer finally came when Olise strode through the middle of the field and slipped a pass into the run of Mateta.
With Hamza advancing to cut down the angle, Mateta got to the ball first and swept home.
France thought it had won a penalty deep into stoppage time when VAR reviewed a handball by Omar Fayed.
Referee Said Martinez spent agonizingly long reviewing the sideline monitor before eventually determining there had been a foul in the buildup.
While that was a reprieve for Egypt and sent the game to extra time, Fayed was sent off in the 92nd, having been booked during heated scenes when the potential penalty was being reviewed.
France took advantage of the extra man and went ahead through Mateta’s second goal of the match.
Once again Olise was at the heart of it — swinging a ball into the box for Kiliann Sildillia head across goal. Mateta rose and headed past Alaa.
Olise then got on the score sheet himself firing low with a first time left-footed shot from inside the box.
“We showed the team that we have character, and we showed the fans and everyone that we have character,” Mateta said. “We can believe we can score, and we do.”
Egypt, which has finished fourth on two previous occasions — Amsterdam 1928 and Tokyo 1964 — will play Morocco in an all-African bronze medal match in Nantes on Thursday.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games