With a dramatic men’s semifinals coming to an end, host nation France and Spain are ready to go for gold in the finals.
Spain made it to the final with a last minute 2-1 win over Morocco. It seemed like extra time was right around the corner until Spain broke the tie at the 85th minute mark.
Fermin Lopez continues to shine throughout this tournament as he leads Spain into the gold medal game. Lopez just recently won the Euro tournament with the senior team; he is now looking to add a gold medal to his impressive few months.
France’s semifinal match had a last minute tying goal against Egypt and went into extra time. France did not stop there as they added two more goals in extra time, winning the game 3-1.
Jean-Philippe Mateta and Michael Olise drove the French to the final game. Mateta netted two goals during the semifinal game, the equalizer and the game-winning goal. Olise played a perfect ball to Mateta to tie the game up and then added a goal of his own in extra time.
France and Spain have met each other on many international stages. With their 38th meeting upon them, Spain has won 17, France has won 13, and they have tied seven times.
Spain has not won a gold medal in the Olympics since 1992. This will be the French’s third final and could be their first Olympic gold medal.
With France hosting the Olympics, there is no better time for the French to win their first ever gold medal. But, with one more win for Spain, they have the opportunity to cement their country into the soccer world as if not the best, then one of the best countries in the world.
Spain and France will play this Friday, Aug. 9 at 12 p.m. ET. Who will take home the gold?
