All eyes will be on the Parc des Princes stadium in the French capital tomorrow, Friday, where the final match of the Olympic football competition will be held between the host team, France, and its Spanish counterpart.
The French team, the host team and seeking to win the second gold medal in its history, had an ideal journey to reach the final, as it topped Group 1 with a full score of 9 points after defeating the teams of the United States, Guinea and New Zealand.
The French team also maintained its unbeaten record after eliminating the Argentine team, which had won the gold medal twice before, by one goal in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, it beat the Egyptian team by three goals to one after resorting to two extra periods following a 1-1 draw in regular time.
The French national team relies on the brilliance of its stars, led by the team captain Alexandre Lacazette, the star of the Lyon team, as well as Freiburg defender Kylian Sildilea, and Mickael Oliseh, who recently joined Bayern Munich.
Forty years after winning their first and only title by defeating Brazil 2-0 in the Los Angeles edition in 1984, the French national team coach and former star Thierry Henry hopes to lead his country to Olympic gold.
In contrast, the Spanish team is looking to avoid what happened in the last edition three years ago in Tokyo, when it missed the opportunity to win the gold medal after losing in the final to Brazil by one goal to two after extra time.
This time, the Spanish national team aims to complete Spain’s dominance over the European football scene after winning the “Euro 2024” title in Berlin, as well as the crowning of the Under-19 team with the European Championship title about two weeks ago.
The Spanish team qualified for this round after coming in second in Group 3 with 6 points, where it defeated the Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan, lost to Egypt, then defeated Japan 3-0 in the quarter-finals of the tournament, before beating the Moroccan team 2-1 in the semi-finals.
The Spanish national team, which has won the Olympic title once in the edition held on home soil in Barcelona in 1992, has many distinguished players, most notably Barcelona defender Eric Garcia, his team-mate Fermin Lopez, Manchester City defender Sergio Gomez and Atletico Madrid player Samu Omordion.
The two teams faced each other once during the 1996 Atlanta edition, where the result of the match ended in a 1-1 draw in the first round. The last meeting between them at the Olympic team level was in the 2009 Pescara Mediterranean Games, when the Spanish team won by two goals to one in the semi-finals.
