After squandering a late lead, Spain recovered and edged host France 5–3 on two goals by Sergio Camello in the extra time to win the gold medal in men’s soccer at the Paris Olympics on Friday.
Barcelona star Fermin Lopez scored a pair of first-half goals to lead Spain. Lopez, 21, was the dominant player at the tournament, scoring six goals in six games. He was also part of Spain’s full National Team that won the Euro 2024 championship earlier this summer.
It was Spain’s first gold medal in the sport since winning in its home city Barcelona in 1992. Spain reached its second consecutive gold medal game but finished with silver against Brazil at the Tokyo Olympics.
France erased a 3–1 deficit on late goals by Maghnes Akliouche in the 79th minute and Jean-Philippe Mateta three minutes into injury time to send the match into overtime. Spain ran several effective counterattacks before Camello found some space and chipped the ball into the goal for the 4–3 lead. Camello put the game away with a breakaway goal in the 121st minute.
France was looking to become the fifth host nation to win a gold medal in men’s soccer, joining Spain (1992), Brazil (2016), Belgium (1920), and Great Britain (1908). The French last won a gold medal at the Los Angeles Games in 1984.
Inspired by the home crowd, France launched several effective attacks moments after the opening whistle. Enzo Millot scored from the corner of the penalty area when his shot went off the hands of Spanish goalkeeper Obed Nkambadio and into the goal in the 11th minute. Millot was back in the lineup after serving a suspension for accumulating too many yellow cards.
Lopez tied the game with a left score in the 18th minute when he slotted the ball into the corner. Just seven minutes later, Lopez gave Spain a 2–1 lead when he knocked in a deflection off French goalie Guillaume Restes.
The Spaniards were not finished and shocked the French crowd when Álex Baena scored on a free kick in the 28th minute to provide a 3–1 lead.
Even with the lead, Spain continued to thread passes through the midfield and kept the French under pressure. French coach Thierry Henry urged his players to push forward but they had trouble breaking down the Spanish defense.
Mateta led France with four goals in five games and he came close to scoring two minutes into injury time but his header was tipped over the bar by Spanish goalkeeper Arnau Tenas, who plays club ball for Paris Saint-Germain. Two minutes later, France’s Michael Olise’s left-footed shot from the center of the box went just wide.
Spain outshot France 7–6 in the first half.
The French attacked more efficiently in the second half and controlled the run of play. However, Spain kept a surplus of players behind the ball and was able to deflect several of the shots by the French.
France midfielder Manu Koné came close to scoring but his header caromed off the crossbar off a cross by Adrien Truffert in the 57th minute. Koné had another solid chance in the 72nd minute but his close-range shot was saved by Tenas.
France finally broke through with a goal by Akliouche to pull within 3–2 in the 79th minute. The goal also got the crowd back into the game and appeared to rattle the usually stoic Spaniards.
Mateta then tied the game on a penalty kick that was awarded after a VAR review three minutes into injury time.
Spain beat Uzbekistan 2–1 and the Dominican Republic 3–1 before losing 2–1 to Egypt in the group stage. The Spaniards rebounded with a 3–0 victory over Japan in the quarterfinals and before beating Morocco 2–1 in the semifinals.
France had been dominant throughout the tournament and opened its group stage with a 3–0 shutout against the United States. The French then beat Guinea 1–0 and drubbed New Zealand 3–0. France beat Argentina 1–0 in a heated quarterfinal battle before defeating Egypt 3–1 in extra time in a semifinal.
